Overseas Registration Examination
ORE Part 1 – Format
Part 1 of the test comprises two, three-hour written papers, undertaken on a computer and is made
up of Extended Matching Questions (EMQs) and Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) in the form of
Single Best Answer questions (SBAs).
Extended matching questions (EMQs)
Extended matching questions are grouped into themes. Each theme has a heading that tells you
what the questions are about.
Within each theme there are several numbered items. These are the questions and the problems
you have to solve. There are examples in the next section.
We recommend that you begin by reading carefully the instruction that precedes the numbered
items.
We recommend that you consider each of the numbered items and decide what you think the
answer is. You should then look for that answer in the list of options above the items (each of
which is identified by a letter of the alphabet). If you cannot find the answer you have thought of,
you should look for the option which, in your opinion, is the best answer to the problem posed.
For each numbered item, you must choose ONE, and only one, of the options. You may feel that
there are several possible answers to an item, but you must choose the best one from the option
list. If you enter more than one answer on the answer sheet you will gain no mark for the question
even though you may have given the right answer along with one or more wrong ones.
On occasions you may feel that more than one option offers a credible answer. In such
circumstances the examiners are looking for the single answer that is generally accepted to accord
with current best practice or clinical guidelines.
In each theme there are more options than items, so not all the options will be used as answers.
This is why the instruction says that some options may not be used at all.
Alternatively a given option may provide the answer to more than one item. For example, for two
different scenarios the most likely diagnosis could be the same. In this case the option would be
used more than once.
Example EMQs
Example 1 – appearances of oral tissue
The options provided below are diagnoses for conditions with characteristic appearances that may
be recognised when examining patients’ mouths. For each clinical scenario described choose the
single most likely diagnosis from the list of options. Each option may be used once, more than
once, or not at all.
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Options list:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Circumvallate papillae
Filiform papillae
Fordyce spots
Leukoedema
Leukoplakia
Lingual tonsils
Mandibular tori
Palatal tori
Clinical scenarios
1. Sebaceous glands visible as white or cream coloured spopts up to 0.5mm diameter
usually present in the labial and buccal mucosa.
C
2. Bilateral raised red lumps, which enlarge during viral infections, at the lateral
borders of the base of the tongue.
F
3. A row of 8-12 pink/red lumps on the dorsum of the tongue at the junction of the
anterior two thirds and posterior third of the tongue.
A
4. A milky white translucent whitening of the oral mucosa, commoner in black races
which disappears on stretching the mucosa.
D
5. Bilateral bony hard swellings on the lingual aspect of the mandible in the premolar
regions.
G
Example 2 – Theme: use of antibiotics
For each of the clinical scenarios described below, select the most appropriate antibiotic from the
options list. Each might be used once, more than once, or not at all.
Options list:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
Amoxicillin 250mg qds. for 5 days
Amoxicillin 500mg bd. for 7 days
Amoxicillin 1g intravenously
Amoxicillin 3g single oral dose
Azithromycin 500mg single oral dose
Clindamycin 600mg single oral dose
Erythromycin 250mg qds for 5 days
Metronidazole 200mg tds for 7 days
Metronidazole 200mg qds for 7 days
Penicillin V 125mg qds. for 5 days
Penicillin V 250mg qds. for 5 days
Tetracydine 250mg qds. for 5 days
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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org
Clinical scenarios:
1. A 50-year-old man with a prosthetic heart valve requiring a tooth extraction. There is
no other relevant medical history.
D
2. The same patient who requires a further dental procedure three weeks after the
extraction.
F
3. A 55-year-old man who is allergic to penicillin and who is unable to swallow
capsules.
E
4. A 60-year old woman with a previous history of endocarditis requiring scaling and
root planning and who is allergic to penicillin.
F
5. A 5-year-old child attends in the dental emergency clinic at the weekend, with
swelling of the right side of the face resulting from an abscessed tooth. There is no
significant medical history.
J
6. A 23-year-old woman presents complaining of ‘sore’, red, bleeding gums and
halitosis.
H
7. A pyrexic 30-year-old man presents with an exacerbation of an apical infection two
days after initiation of root canal therapy.
K
Single Best Answer questions (SBAs)
Single Best Answer questions are characterised by a question, which may be based on a clinical
scenario, followed by a set of usually five possible answers. You are asked to choose what you
think is the most accurate answer.
Example SBAs
Example 1 - Whilst undertaking root canal preparation of a lower molar tooth anaesthetised with
interior alveolar nerve block, the patient experiences pain.
Which root canal is most likely to contain sensitive tissue:





Distobuccal root canal
Distolingual root canal
Mesiobuccal root canal
Mesiolingual root canal
Distal root canal
Example 2 - You are considering your choice of local analgesia for a surgical procedure which you
anticipate will be ‘difficult’.
Which one of the following agents provides the most prolonged analgesia?





Articaine
Bupivicaine
Lidocaine (lignocaine)
Mepivicaine
Prilocaine
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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org
Example 3 - A 51 year old man with chronic periodontal disease complains of polyuria, thirst and
lethargy at his treatment review
.
Which of the following medical conditions is most likely to be associated with his presenting
condition?





Angina
Cushing’s syndrome
Diabetes mellitus
Lymphoma
Tuberculosis
Example 4 - A two year old experienced trauma to her upper deciduous incisors. What is the most
likely permanent consequence for the developing incisors?





Dilacerated tooth
Enamel hypoplasia
Geminated tooth
Hutchinson’s incisor
Turner’s tooth
ORE Part 1 - Content
The purpose of Part 1 is to test the candidates’ application of knowledge to clinical practice.
The ORE Part 1 consists two papers testing candidates’ knowledge of:
Paper 1
Clinically applied dental science;
Clinically applied human disease;
Paper 2
All aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety.
For more detailed information on the possible topic areas, please refer to the section below.
You will see that some learning outcomes may be covered in either Paper 1 and/or in Paper 2. For
example the applied implications of anatomy for Prosthodontics or Oral Surgery may be covered in
Paper 1 while the relationship of clinical procedures to anatomical features may be covered in
Paper 2. Similarly in relation to materials Paper 1 might look at clinical application from the science
viewpoint while Paper 2 might relate clinical technique to the underlying science.
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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org