The Basics of the Overseas Registration Exam...

The Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) is an exam designed to test the knowledge of foreign graduate dentists to enable them to register with the General Dental Council (GDC) as a licensed dentist in the UK.

The exam itself is in two parts: 

• Part I consists of the theoretical knowledge of dentistry.
• Part II consists of a practical exam which entails an operative test on a dental manikin (DM), an OSCE, a diagnostic and treatment planning exercise (DTP) and lastly a practical examination in medical emergencies (ME).

If you would like a full breakdown of the knowledge you need to know for both parts, have a look at our OR Exam Syllabus. If you are located outside the EU, it may be better to undertake the LDS Exam as your qualification may not be recognised to enable you to take the ORE Exam.

A bit more detail...

The ORE is an examination undertaken by qualified dentists from outside the European Union (EU) economic area who wish to undertake unsupervised dental practice within the EU. With the passing of this examination, the qualified overseas dentist can obtain registration with the General Dental Council (GDC) and will be able to undertake unsupervised practice. The ORE exam tests both the theoretical and practical clinical skills of qualified overseas dentists. 

The ORE exam is based on the UK's dental curriculum and the candidate who passes the exam is equated to one who has just passed the UK BDS. It employs modern techniques and skills in setting the questions and making the assessments so as to ensure a robust exam. 

The exam constitutes of two parts: part 1 and part 2. Each candidate is allowed up to four attempts on each of the two parts of the ORE exam and they are expected to take part two of the ORE exam within 5 days of passing ORE part 1. The first part is a written exam while the next part is a practical exam. 

The first part costs six hundred euros while the second part costs two thousand, two hundred and fifty euros. Most of the time part one of the examinations is carried out at King's College, London in April and August for the first part while part 2 is done with the Royal College of Surgeons and Eastman Dental Institute.

The General Dental Council is mandated to design, organize and manage the administration of the exam. The council then outsources dental authorities to run the exam on their behalf. 

Recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of dentists who are registered with the General Dental Council. This has led to the removal of 'employed dental practitioner', 'vocational dental practitioner', and 'employed dental assistant' from the state's list of careers that have a shortage in the United Kingdom. This means that every qualified overseas dentist should be clear about the job opportunities before applying for their registration. Further details can be found on the General Dental Council's site.

The results of the examinations are released within 20 days of sitting for the exam. There is a provision for retaking particular sections where one did not perform well. Such provisions come at a cost of three hundred euros per section that one wants to retake.