ORE Part 1 Paper B explained: subjects, timing and question style
Paper B of ORE Part 1 covers aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety, in 200 single best answer and extended matching questions in three hours, taken on consecutive days with Paper A.
5 min readAbout the examChecked 23 September 2026 against GDC sources
What Paper B is
Paper B is one of the two papers of ORE Part 1. The GDC describes it as covering aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety. It tests the diagnosis and management of dental disease across the clinical disciplines, prescribing and radiography, and the legal, ethical and professional duties of a dentist working in the UK.
Like Paper A, 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 A, at a London test centre allocated by the provider.
Structure and timing
| Element | Paper B |
|---|---|
| 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 A |
| 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, 73% of candidates passed Paper B, and 80% 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 B 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 B, most sit under the heading "Diagnosis and management of disease relevant to dentistry", followed by the professional topics.
| Blueprint topic | Examples of what it covers | UK sources |
|---|---|---|
| Endodontics | Pulpal and periapical diagnosis, root canal treatment, when to review and when to refer | European Society of Endodontology guidance |
| Periodontology | BPE codes and what follows each, staging and grading under the 2017 classification, non-surgical therapy, maintenance | British Society of Periodontology |
| Prosthodontics | Partial denture design and surveying, resin-bonded bridges, complete denture problems | Standard prosthodontic texts |
| Oral surgery | Third molar assessment and nerve risk, extraction in anticoagulated patients, dry socket, post-operative bleeding | NICE TA1; SDCEP anticoagulant guidance |
| Paediatric dentistry | Eruption, trauma including avulsion, pulp therapy in primary teeth, safeguarding | IADT guidelines; SDCEP caries in children |
| Orthodontics | IOTN, incisor and molar classification, interceptive treatment, timing of referral | IOTN |
| Oral medicine | Mucosal disease, orofacial pain, potentially malignant disorders and urgent referral | NICE NG12 |
| Oral pathology and oral microbiology | Cysts and tumours of the jaws, mucosal pathology, the microbiology of caries and periodontal disease | WHO classifications |
| Therapeutics | Local anaesthetic agents and doses, antimicrobial prescribing, analgesics, drug interactions, prescribing in pregnancy and in renal or hepatic disease | SDCEP Drug Prescribing for Dentistry; BNF; NICE CG64 |
| Special care | Patients with disabilities, older and medically complex patients, capacity | Mental Capacity Act 2005 |
| Dental radiology | IR(ME)R 2017 duty holders, IRR17, selection criteria and intervals, technique faults | FGDP selection criteria; IR(ME)R 2017 |
| Dental public health | Epidemiology, fluoride, prevention at population level | Delivering Better Oral Health |
| Communication, consent, clinical professionalism, ethical and regulatory frameworks, self-management | Valid consent and capacity, confidentiality, raising concerns, complaints, the GDC's standards | GDC Standards for the Dental Team |
The ORE Part 1 syllabus guide explains where ORE Ready places topics the snapshot does not name, such as caries, tooth wear and occlusion, and what the health and safety in the paper's title covers.
The GDC consulted in 2026 on replacing its Standards for the Dental Team with a new professionalism framework. Check which document is current before your sitting.
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 B questions are written
Every question in the paper is a multiple choice question: single best answer, or extended matching, where each short scenario is matched to an option from one list and counts as 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 almost every Paper B question asked the candidate to apply knowledge to a patient or a situation, such as choosing a restoration, grading a malocclusion or responding to a request for records. The sample predates the current provider and the 2026 blueprint, so treat it as a guide to style and nothing more.
Paper B topics that reward exact knowledge
- Anticoagulants, where the reflex to stop the drug contradicts SDCEP guidance.
- Antibiotics, where prescribing for a localised infection that can be drained contradicts SDCEP guidance.
- Local anaesthetic doses, where a weight-based maximum has to be converted into cartridges.
- Radiation protection, where IR(ME)R 2017 and IRR17 are confused and the referrer, practitioner and operator roles are misassigned.
- Periodontal classification, where the grade and the stability criteria are applied to figures.
- Consent and capacity, where the answer turns on UK law and the GDC's standards rather than local custom.
How to prepare for Paper B
The syllabus guide lists both papers' topics with the UK sources behind them. Paper B is broad, with many clinical disciplines and a professional section, so it rewards a plan that covers every topic once before returning to the weakest. Learn the numbers each guideline contains as a list, then test them in scenarios. Paper A and Paper B are taken on consecutive days and must both be passed at the same sitting, so the Paper A 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
Aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety. The provider's blueprint lists endodontics, prosthodontics, paediatric dentistry, periodontology, oral surgery, oral medicine, therapeutics, oral pathology, oral microbiology, orthodontics, special care, dental radiology and dental public health, together with communication, consent, clinical professionalism, ethical and regulatory frameworks, and self-management.
The published figures do not show one paper as consistently harder. In April 2026, 79% passed Paper A and 73% passed Paper B; in August 2025 the figures were 79% and 80%. Across the eleven sittings the GDC has published since 2018, Paper B had the lower pass rate at six and Paper A at five.
Yes, in Paper B. Its title includes law and ethics and health and safety, and its blueprint lists consent, communication and interpersonal skills, clinical professionalism, ethical and regulatory frameworks, and self-management.
Paper B 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 consecutive days with Paper A.
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.