ORE Part 1

Part 1 is designed to test candidates' application of knowledge to clinical practice.

It consists of two computer-based exam papers:

• Paper A covers clinically applied dental science and clinically applied human disease.
• Paper B covers aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety.

All questions are mapped to learning outcomes in our Preparing for Practice document.

Each paper lasts three hours and is made up of multiple short answer questions (extended matching questions and single best answer questions).

A candidate is expected to be able to show competence, knowledge and familiarity in the different aspects of dentistry which are outlined in the learning outcomes in our Preparing for Practice document.

There are normally a maximum of 200 places, but this has been increased to 600 for the next sitting.

You must pass both papers in order to progress to Part 2.

Location and cost

The ORE Part 1 is held at King's College London and costs £806.

Examination fees are not normally refundable. See our ORE refund policy. 

The fee for sittings of the ORE Part 1, held after 1 January 2025, will be £584. 

Part 1 examination dates

The next Part 1 will take place:

• August 2024 (fully booked).
• April 2025 (bookings will open eight weeks in advance).

For more, see the latest information on ORE bookings.

Results

Your exam results will be sent to you by email. We will endeavour to release the results to you within 30 working days of the examination.

You will be given a percentage mark out of 100 for Paper 1 and for Paper 2, as well as an overall pass or fail award. As the examination is taken at a computer, the results are calculated as soon as you click 'submit'. This ensures there is no room for error in this marking system and so we do not offer the opportunity of questioning the marks awarded. However, all results are quality assured after the exam by the exam board.

We are not able to provide you with any feedback on your performance in this examination. However, approximately 40 working days after the examination, the Part 1 Supplier, King's College London, will provide you with result feedback.

Upon passing Part 1, your name will be added to the Part 2 candidate list.

Survey feedback

After each exam the GDC exam supplier collects feedback about the sitting, which also includes some of our responses about certain topics. This report is a tool for candidates to clarify certain aspects about the Part 1 exam and should be read as preparation for the exam. 

Policies

​Policies governing the examination of Part 1 are available on the exam centre's website.

Part 1 policies include Complaints, Suspected Malpractice, Mitigating Circumstances, and Candidate ID Verification.

If you have booked a place on an exam and need to withdraw, please consult our withdrawal policy and refunds policy.

If you wish to make a general complaint about the service you have received at the GDC, please get in touch.

You will be allowed four attempts for Part 1.