The General Dental Council (GDC) is finalising arrangements for the new exam which will test the clinical skills and knowledge of overseas dentists, and is consulting on the entry requirements. The exam is for qualified dentists who do not have a UK or recognised European dental degree who wish to apply for registration to practise in the UK.

This new exam aims to provide a robust assessment of a dentist’s skills and knowledge through a range of modern methods, including the use of actors and dental manikins. As the exam will not test dentists’ skills on real patients the GDC proposes making clinical experience a condition of entry to the exam.

The GDC recommends that candidates should have spent 1,600 hours (this is approximately one year’s experience) treating patients in the dental chair before they can apply. It is suggested that this can be during their primary dental degree, post-qualification work experience or a combination of both. The proposed entry requirements aim to ensure patient protection and will bar candidates who have never treated patients from gaining registration in the UK.

GDC President Hew Mathewson said:

“The use of actors and dental manikins in the new exam will ensure all dentists are tested fairly to the same level by being assessed on a standard set of scenarios. Responses to our previous consultation on the exam highlighted concerns about the use of dental manikins in place of patients. We have listened to these concerns and acted by proposing this additional entry requirement.

“We believe that all dentists should be able to demonstrate they have had hands-on experience before being allowed to take the exam and possibly go on to treat patients in the UK and welcome your views on what experience these dentists should have.”

The new statutory exam will launch later this year and will replace the International Qualifying Examination (IQE) which dentists from overseas are currently required to pass. It will allow for an increase in capacity and reduce waiting times for candidates. The assessment methods aim to enable consistent and objective testing in a wide range of skills.

The new exam will be in two parts instead of the current three:

• Part One will test the candidate’s application of knowledge in clinical practice. It will consist of two, three-hour written papers, undertaken on a computer.
• Part Two will test a candidate’s ability to practise clinical skills safely. It will consist of four elements:
  • An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), this will include use of actors to test communication skills.
  • Three practical exercises on a dental manikin in three hours
  • A diagnosis and treatment planning exercise
  • An examination in medical emergencies

 We expect to open the waiting list for the new exam in the summer. Application packs and full information for would-be candidates will be available several weeks before the list opens. Potential candidates can contact us now to request a pack at examapplications@gdc-uk.org or by calling +44 (0)20 7344 3735. We expect the first sitting of Part One of the new exam to take place in the autumn.

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For media enquiries, please contact Rachel Lea on 020 7009 2782.

Notes to editors:
1. The consultation document on ‘Introducing a requirement of prior clinical experience for entry to the new statutory exam’ can be downloaded from the GDC website.
For a hard copy of the consultation document, or more information on the consultation, please email clinicalexperience@gdc-uk.org or telephone +44 (0)20 7887 3884.

2. Information about the IQE, the current exam for dentists from overseas (non-EEA) is available from the GDC website. In April 2006, admission of new candidates to the IQE was suspended temporarily. This measure was necessary to prevent unacceptable waiting times for candidates already committed to the exam. Any new applicants from overseas will be applying for the new exam.