ORE Part 1 exam format: papers, questions, timing and the day

How many questions are in ORE Part 1?

The exam is set by the GDC and delivered for it by a consortium led by UCL Eastman Dental Institute. The GDC's ORE pages and the provider's Examination Specification for Candidates are the authoritative sources, and the joining instructions for your sitting take precedence over any general description, including this one.

The two papers

Paper A covers dental science and human disease: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, oral biology, genetics and embryology, human disease and its oral aspects, infection prevention and control, dental materials, behavioural sciences, and statistics and research methods. Paper B covers aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety: the clinical disciplines, oral medicine, oral pathology and microbiology, therapeutics, special care, dental radiology, dental public health, and communication, consent and professionalism.

The papers are taken on consecutive days. The ORE Part 1 syllabus guide lists every blueprint topic with the UK sources behind it, and the Paper A guide and Paper B guide describe the question style of each.

Question types

Single best answer. A short scenario or statement, a question and a list of options. More than one option can be partly right, and one is the best answer. In the GDC's 2018-19 sample questions every single best answer question had five options.

Extended matching. A theme, one list of options and several short scenarios, each matched to the option that fits it best. Each scenario is one question worth one mark, so a theme counts as several questions. In the GDC's 2018-19 sample document the options were chosen from a drop-down menu in the online exam. The ORE Part 1 practice questions page has a free mixed set from both papers, with a rationale for every option.

The provider's specification does not say whether Part 1 uses images.

Pace

Three hours for 200 questions is about 54 seconds a question. That is a brisk pace, and it is the reason timed practice matters. Most of the time lost goes on questions where the candidate re-reads the scenario looking for a clue that is not there.

At that pace a paper reaches question 50 at 45 minutes, question 100 at 1 hour 30 minutes and question 150 at 2 hours 15 minutes. The free ORE Part 1 mock test runs 25 questions at the same rate and shows where your time goes.

The exam days

1. The provider issues joining instructions about seven weeks before the exam. Read them in full, because they take precedence over any general description.
2. Photographic identification must match the details the GDC holds for you.
3. Arrive early. Candidates who arrive after the pre-exam announcements have started are refused entry, and the attempt still counts.
4. One paper is taken on each of two consecutive days, each lasting three hours.

Results

The GDC sends results by email within 30 working days of the exam, and the provider's results policy says within 30 days of the exam completion date. No release date is published in advance. The result gives a mark out of 100 for each paper and an overall pass or fail, and a percentage for each paper and each blueprint topic follows about 21 working days later. The pass mark and results guide explains the normalised pass mark and what happens after a pass or a fail.

Practising the format

A mock that reproduces the pace and the length of a paper is the closest rehearsal available. The free ORE Part 1 mini-mock runs at 54 seconds a question and reports a result by subject, and the ORE Part 1 exam dates page counts the weeks to your sitting. The free diagnostic asks 13 questions across both papers in about 15 minutes and gives a first read on every subject.