ORE Part 1 Paper A explained: subjects, timing and question style
Paper A of ORE Part 1 covers dental science and human disease in 200 single best answer and extended matching questions in three hours, taken on consecutive days with Paper B.
4 min readAbout the examChecked 23 September 2026 against GDC sources
What Paper A is
Paper A is one of the two papers of ORE Part 1. The GDC describes it as covering dental science and human disease. It tests the science a dentist entering UK practice draws on every day: how the head and neck are built and work, how systemic disease affects the mouth and dental care, how infection is controlled in the surgery, how materials behave, and how evidence is weighed.
Like Paper B, it is mapped to the GDC's Preparing for Practice learning outcomes and set at the standard of a newly qualified UK BDS graduate. It is taken on consecutive days with Paper B, at a London test centre allocated by the provider.
Structure and timing
| Element | Paper A |
|---|---|
| Questions | 200 |
| Time | 3 hours, about 54 seconds a question |
| Question format | Multiple choice: single best answer and extended matching; the split is not published |
| Scheduling | Taken on consecutive days with Paper B |
| Pass mark | A normalised 50%; the raw cut score is not published |
| Pass rule | Paper A and Paper B must both be passed at the same sitting |
In April 2026, 79% of candidates passed Paper A, as did 79% in August 2025, according to the GDC's results sheets. The ORE Part 1 pass mark and pass rates guide explains the normalised mark and lists every published sitting, and the exam format guide covers the two days in more detail.
The Paper A topics
The provider's Examination Specification for Candidates (August 2026) gives a snapshot of the blueprint: the topics that can be included in each paper. For Paper A they are listed below, with examples of what each can reach.
| Blueprint topic | Examples of what it covers |
|---|---|
| Anatomy of the head and neck | The trigeminal and facial nerves, the anatomy behind local anaesthetic blocks, salivary glands, muscles of mastication, fascial spaces and the spread of infection |
| Physiology of the major body systems relevant to dentistry | Cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and renal physiology, haemostasis, pain |
| Biochemistry relevant to oral disease | Sugar metabolism and plaque pH, collagen, bone and calcium metabolism, the action of fluoride |
| Genetics/embryology relevant to orofacial disease | Development of the face, palate and teeth, inherited conditions of enamel and dentine, clefts |
| Oral biology | Enamel, dentine, pulp and periodontium, saliva, eruption |
| Human disease relevant to dentistry | Cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine disease, bleeding disorders, immunology and general pathology, and the patient whose medicines change dental care |
| Oral aspects of human disease | The oral signs of systemic disease and of the drugs used to treat it |
| Infection prevention and control of transmission in the oral healthcare setting | Transmission of infection, decontamination and sterilisation, immunisation of the dental team |
| Dental materials | Composite and bonding, glass ionomer, amalgam, impression materials, ceramics and cements |
| Behavioural sciences relevant to oral health care | Dental anxiety, behaviour change and prevention advice |
| Statistics and research methods | Study designs, bias, sensitivity and specificity, levels of evidence |
The ORE Part 1 syllabus guide explains where ORE Ready places topics the blueprint does not name, such as medical emergencies, and how the GDC's older list of science headings compares.
The provider does not publish how many questions each topic carries, so preparation time follows the breadth of each topic and your own results.
How Paper A questions are written
Every question in the paper is a multiple choice question. A single best answer question asks for the one best option from a list. An extended matching question gives a theme, one list of options and several short scenarios, each matched to an option, and each scenario is one question worth one mark. In the GDC's 2018-19 sample document the extended matching options were chosen from a drop-down menu in the online exam.
In that sample, most Paper A questions were short and direct, testing recall and understanding, and a few set the science in a patient scenario. The sample predates the current provider and the 2026 blueprint, so treat it as a guide to style and nothing more.
Paper A topics that reward exact knowledge
- Applied anatomy, where the course of a nerve explains why a block succeeds or fails and where an infection can spread.
- Human disease, where a condition or a drug history changes what is safe to do in the dental chair.
- Infection prevention and control, where the stages of decontamination and the standards behind them are specific.
- Dental materials, where the reason behind a clinical step, such as protecting a setting glass ionomer, is asked rather than the step itself.
- Statistics and research methods, where sensitivity, specificity and predictive values are calculated from a table.
How to prepare for Paper A
The syllabus guide lists both papers' topics with the UK sources behind them. For many clinicians the Paper A sciences are the furthest from daily practice, so they repay short, regular recall sessions from early in the plan, followed by questions on each topic. Paper A and Paper B are taken on consecutive days and must both be passed at the same sitting, so the Paper B guide belongs in the same plan.
The practice questions page has free questions from both papers with a rationale for every option, and the free ORE Part 1 mock test runs 25 questions at the real pace. The free diagnostic asks 13 questions in about 15 minutes and gives a first read on every subject.
Questions candidates ask
Dental science and human disease. The provider's blueprint lists behavioural sciences, physiology, biochemistry, genetics and embryology, anatomy of the head and neck, oral biology, human disease relevant to dentistry, oral aspects of human disease, infection prevention and control, dental materials, and statistics and research methods.
Paper A has 200 questions in three hours, about 54 seconds a question, a mix of single best answer and extended matching questions. It is taken on the day before or after Paper B, at a London test centre allocated by the provider.
Yes, and at the same sitting. Marks are normalised so that the pass mark is 50% on each paper, and a strong result in one paper cannot make up for a fail in the other.
The provider's blueprint places therapeutics, the prescribing side of pharmacology, in Paper B. The GDC's Part 1 page still lists pharmacology among older science headings without saying which paper it belongs to. ORE Ready's own reading, which the provider does not state, is that drug actions can arise in Paper A where they bear on human disease and physiology.
Sources
- UCL consortium for the GDC: ORE Examination Specification for Candidates (August 2026)Checked 23 September 2026
- GDC: ORE Part 1Checked 23 September 2026
- GDC: ORE Part 1 background information and sample questions (2018-19)Checked 23 September 2026
- GDC: ORE resultsChecked 23 September 2026
- GDC: ORE Part 1 results, April 2026Checked 23 September 2026
- GDC: ORE Part 1 results, August 2025Checked 23 September 2026
ORE Ready is independent of the General Dental Council. Rules, dates and fees can change: the GDC is the authority, and this page is checked against it.