About the exam
ORE Part 1 Exam structure
An independent study guide aligned to the current GDC ORE Part 1 pages, the dentist outcomes in Preparing for Practice and the International Registration Rules 2023.
Issuer and path
ORE Part 1 Study Guide is administered through General Dental Council. Check official resources before booking, retesting, or relying on a stale requirement.
Paper A
0 scored + 0 pretest
Clinically applied dental science and clinically applied human disease; three hours, with SBA and EMQ items.
Paper B
0 scored + 0 pretest
Clinical dentistry, law and ethics, and health and safety; three hours, with SBA and EMQ items.
Before your sitting
Check the current GDC and ORE Part 1 supplier pages and direct candidate communications for venue allocation, identification, accessibility arrangements, policies, timetable and any newly issued assessment specification.
Official Outline Coverage Map
Coverage is mapped to official outline item counts so content depth can be checked without hard-coding a single exam.
| Topic | Official outline items | Your questions | Your flashcards | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomy, Development and Physiology | 0 | 40 | 5 | Strong |
| Bacteriology, Immunology and Infection | 0 | 40 | 5 | Strong |
| Pathology and Human Disease | 0 | 40 | 5 | Strong |
| Pharmacology and Therapeutics | 0 | 40 | 5 | Strong |
| Dental Materials, Evidence and Statistics | 0 | 40 | 5 | Strong |
| Assessment, Diagnosis and Investigations | 0 | 30 | 5 | Strong |
| Treatment Planning, Consent and Referral | 0 | 28 | 5 | Strong |
| Patient Management, Pain and Anxiety | 0 | 31 | 5 | Strong |
| Clinical Safety, Decontamination and Emergencies | 0 | 30 | 5 | Strong |
| Acute Oral and Dental Care | 0 | 25 | 5 | Strong |
| Prevention and Population Health | 0 | 30 | 5 | Strong |
| Periodontal Care | 0 | 25 | 5 | Strong |
| Oral Medicine and Surgery | 0 | 30 | 5 | Strong |
| Developing Dentition and Orthodontics | 0 | 28 | 5 | Strong |
| Restorative and Endodontic Care | 0 | 32 | 5 | Strong |
| Prosthodontics and Implant Options | 0 | 24 | 5 | Strong |
| Communication, Records and Information Governance | 0 | 26 | 5 | Strong |
| Ethics, Law and Professionalism | 0 | 24 | 5 | Priority |
| Teamwork, Scope and Raising Concerns | 0 | 18 | 5 | Strong |
| Leadership, Governance and Practice Systems | 0 | 20 | 5 | Strong |
How to use this guide
How to prepare for ORE Part 1
Connect scientific knowledge to clinical decisions, then rehearse selecting the safest best answer or matching option under time pressure.
1. Identify the exact task
Decide whether the stem asks for a mechanism, diagnosis, investigation, immediate action, definitive care, referral, legal duty or system response.
2. Stabilise material risk
Prioritise airway, serious deterioration, spreading infection, bleeding, trauma, safeguarding and patient-safety threats before routine care.
3. Apply the patient context
Integrate medical and medicine history, anxiety, capacity, values, ability, setting, prognosis and maintainability.
4. Apply current UK authority
Use current evidence, GDC standards, relevant law and guidance, choosing the scenario's UK jurisdiction where rules differ.
5. Select and close the loop
Choose the option that fully answers the stem, remains within competence and includes necessary communication, documentation, safety-netting or follow-up.
Paper A map
Make every scientific fact clinically useful
Connect anatomy, disease, infection, medicines, materials and evidence to patient management.
Applied Biomedical and Oral Science
Anatomy, development, physiology, bacteriology, immunology, pathology and human disease applied to dental decisions.
Choose a topic to open below
Medicines, Materials and Evidence
Pharmacology, therapeutics, biomaterials, radiation science, evidence appraisal, epidemiology, behaviour and statistics.
Choose a topic to open below
Paper B map
Integrate dentistry with safe professional practice
Combine clinical decisions with communication, law, ethics, health and safety, teamwork and governance.
Assessment and Patient Management
Comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, planning, consent, referral, anxiety, pain, prescribing and review.
Choose a topic to open below
Safety, Acute Care and Prevention
Safe clinical systems, decontamination, emergencies, safeguarding, acute oral care, prevention and population health.
Choose a topic to open below
Periodontal, Surgical and Developing Dentition Care
Periodontal care, oral medicine and surgery, malignancy, development, orthodontic assessment and referral.
Choose a topic to open below
Restorative Dentistry and Rehabilitation
Caries, occlusion, tooth wear, endodontics, dentures, implants and minimally destructive long-term care.
Choose a topic to open below
Communication, Law and Professionalism
Patient communication, records, information governance, GDC standards, consent law, equality, candour and conduct.
Choose a topic to open below
Teamwork, Leadership and Governance
Scope, delegation, feedback, raising concerns, accountability, complaints, equipment systems and practice governance.
Choose a topic to open below
Anatomy, Development and Physiology
Apply dental, oral, craniofacial and general anatomy, embryology and physiology to examination, diagnosis and safe care.
Key rules
Rule 1
Anatomical relationships and developmental origins explain presentation, imaging findings, local anaesthetic effects and procedural risk.
Exam cue: Identify the structure or process, then connect it to the finding or management decision.
Rule 2
Physiology should be used to predict clinical consequences rather than recalled as isolated facts.
Exam cue: Distinguish normal variation and developmental sequence from pathology.
Common traps
Selecting a memorised structure without checking the direction, function or clinical relation in the stem.
Prevention: Do not choose a technically possible answer that ignores urgency, consent, competence, medical risk, follow-up or patient priorities.
Treating anatomy or physiology as detached from patient management.
Prevention: Do not choose a technically possible answer that ignores urgency, consent, competence, medical risk, follow-up or patient priorities.
Memory anchors
What makes anatomy clinically applied?
It predicts examination findings, imaging appearances, anaesthetic effects, procedural risks and referral needs.
How should an embryology question be approached?
Identify the tissue or arch of origin, the developmental event and the resulting normal or abnormal structure.
What links physiology to dentistry?
Homeostasis, pain, healing, salivary function, circulation, respiration and response to medicines or stress.
How should anatomical variation be handled?
Recognise the range of normal, confirm relevant landmarks and adapt treatment safely.
What is the final step after identifying a structure?
State its consequence for diagnosis, risk, technique or patient management.
Next best moves
Quick check-up
Use a short quiz to confirm the rule pattern is actually sticking.
Check-up Questions
After an inferior alveolar nerve block, which additional nerve usually requires anaesthesia for a buccal flap over a mandibular molar?
A patient has numbness of the lower lip after mandibular third-molar surgery. Which terminal nerve supplies this area?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Open another topic next
Official resources
Verify the details with the official sources
Use these links for eligibility, scheduling, handbook rules, and issuer updates. Our guide helps you study; official sources tell you what the testing partner currently requires.
GDC ORE Part 1
The current assessment page defining the two papers, three-hour duration, SBA and EMQ formats, progression rule and attempt limit.
Preparing for Practice
The current learning-outcome document linked from the ORE pages; dentist outcomes are on pages 16–26.
International Registration Rules 2023
The rules in force from 9 March 2024 defining the two Part 1 papers, UK-diploma standard, progression and attempt limits.
GDC ORE preparation and results
Current preparation expectations, links to dentist learning outcomes, patient expectations and published results information.
Standards for the Dental Team
The current GDC standards of conduct, performance and ethics that ground the Paper B professional scope.
Safe Practitioner transition
The general dental-education framework transition; use it as transition context, not as a silent replacement for the outcome document currently linked by ORE.
ORE Part 1 supplier guidance
The current UCL Consultants and AlphaPlus guidance page; candidates should check it and direct communications for newly published assessment specifications.
FAQ
Common ORE Part 1 questions
Is this an official GDC resource?
No. This is an independent study guide. The current GDC ORE pages, documents and communications from the GDC and its examination supplier remain authoritative.
What is the current ORE Part 1 structure?
Part 1 consists of two computer-based papers held in person. Paper A covers clinically applied dental science and clinically applied human disease. Paper B covers aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety. Each paper lasts three hours.
How many questions are in each paper?
The current GDC ORE Part 1 page does not publish a question count for either paper. It publishes the three-hour duration and the SBA and EMQ formats. This guide therefore does not invent a live-paper total.
What are SBA and EMQ questions?
A single-best-answer item asks for one best option from a list. An extended-matching set provides a longer option list that may be used across several related scenarios. In both, the task is to identify the most appropriate answer for the exact stem.
Do I have to pass both papers?
Yes. The GDC states that both papers must be passed before progression to ORE Part 2. A percentage is reported for each paper together with an overall pass or fail result.
Which learning outcomes currently apply to ORE?
As of 29 July 2026, the current GDC ORE Part 1 and Part 2 pages still link ORE questions to Preparing for Practice. For dentists, that document contains 152 numbered outcomes across Clinical, Communication, Professionalism, and Management and Leadership, plus seven overarching outcomes.
Has the Safe Practitioner framework replaced Preparing for Practice?
For dental professional education generally, GDC has introduced the Safe Practitioner framework and education providers are transitioning to it. However, the current ORE pages continue to specify Preparing for Practice. This guide will not treat the general education transition as an ORE blueprint change until the GDC or the Part 1 supplier publishes that change for ORE.
What law and ethics should I study?
Use current GDC Standards for the Dental Team, current professionally relevant law and authoritative guidance. Core decision areas include consent and capacity, confidentiality and information governance, equality, safeguarding, complaints, candour, raising concerns, scope and delegation, indemnity, medicines, radiography, decontamination, health and safety, medical devices and incident reporting.
Is the legal answer always the same across the UK?
No. Preparing for Practice explicitly notes that equality and diversity legislation may differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and other health, safeguarding and consent systems can also vary. Use the jurisdiction in the scenario and current nation-specific law or guidance rather than assuming an England-only rule applies everywhere.
Do I need detailed knowledge of the NHS?
The GDC preparation page says candidates are not expected to know the NHS or UK culture beyond the ways they affect patient treatment. You should still understand relevant referral, safeguarding, incident, prescribing and care pathways when they determine safe management.
How many attempts are allowed?
The current International Registration Rules and ORE page allow a maximum of four attempts at Part 1.
Are the 601 planned questions an official weighting?
No. GDC does not publish paper question totals or topic weights. The 601-item practice bank is an internal coverage plan designed to cover every current outcome and both paper scopes; it is not a prediction of the live examination.