DOH exam for general dentists

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

General dentists sit 150 questions in 3 hours. The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH) has other exam routes for other dental titles. Check the title DOH has approved for you before booking.

Is this the right paper for you?

Use this paper if DOH gives you the General Dentist title. Other dental titles follow their own exam routes.

  • The standard overseas route needs BDS, DMD, DDS or an equal degree (PQR).
  • You also need a completed internship and 2 years of clinical experience. UAE nationals and some UAE graduates have exceptions.
  • The PQR has routes from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, the US and the UAE. Each has conditions.
  • Ask DOH to confirm any exemption. Some titles need an oral exam or OSCE, which tests clinical skills.

Ask DOH about the pass mark

Format at a glance

150 questions. Time: 3 hours. Pass mark: Not published.

Delivered by Pearson VUE.

What the paper covers

We did not find published section weights for the DOH paper for dentists. ProMCQ's mock papers use the published Qatar DHP blueprint for dentists as practice targets. These are not DOH's own weights. Each mock includes national-topic content, so its final question shares can differ slightly from these targets.

  • Biomedical Sciences (20%): Revise basic science with oral care.
  • Evidence-based Practice (3.3%): Read the study for bias.
  • Patient Assessment and Diagnosis (6.7%): Read the history and radiograph together.
  • Comprehensive Treatment Planning (4%): Put urgent care before long-term care.
  • Health and Safety (4%): Revise infection control, sharps, radiation and waste.
  • Management of Emergencies (4%): Treat collapse, anaphylaxis and airway obstruction.
  • Prevention / Oral Health / Population Health (4%): Check caries risk, fluoride and sealants.
  • Control of Pain and Anxiety (3.3%): Check local anaesthetic doses. Help the patient with fear.
  • Periodontics (6.7%): Stage disease and plan care.
  • Pediatric Dentistry (6.7%): Revise primary teeth, trauma and safeguarding.
  • Orthodontics (3.3%): Know when to refer.
  • Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics (10.7%): Choose materials and plan root canal care.
  • Prosthodontics (6.7%): Revise dentures, crowns, bridges and implants.
  • Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine (6.7%): Check medicines before an extraction.
  • Communication Skills (4%): Explain options and handle complaints.
  • Professionalism (2.7%): Report concerns and keep boundaries.
  • Ethical and legal (2%): Keep records safe and gain consent.
  • Team-working, Management, Leadership (1.3%): Know which tasks to delegate.

Sample questions

Eight original practice questions from the DOH dentists bank. They are written to the paper's style, not taken from the live exam. Pick an answer to see the key and explanation.

  1. An adult suddenly develops a solitary blood-filled bulla on the soft palate. There is no known systemic or coagulation disorder. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    1. Fordyce granules
    2. Herpangina
    3. Immune-mediated blistering disease
    4. Angina bullosa hemorrhagica
    Answer

    D. The sudden solitary hemorrhagic bulla on the soft palate, together with the absence of a systemic or coagulation disorder, identifies angina bullosa hemorrhagica.

  2. A 72-year-old woman has a sound, asymptomatic tooth 43. Its periapical radiograph shows a heavily calcified canal. EPT on tooth 43 gives no response, while control tooth 33 responds normally. How should the EPT result on tooth 43 be interpreted?

    1. Confirms pulp necrosis
    2. Indicates irreversible pulpitis
    3. Shows absent pulpal perfusion
    4. Insufficient alone for necrosis
    Answer

    D. In heavily calcified teeth, an absent EPT response is interpreted cautiously. A single negative EPT never establishes necrosis. The clinician should repeat the test, add cold testing, compare with controls and correlate with the history and examination.

  3. A patient reports oral malodor. Which method is the clinical gold standard for assessing the perceived odor?

    1. Chairside VSC quantification with a portable sulfide monitor
    2. Precise specialist-setting VSC analysis using gas chromatography
    3. Clinical oral examination to identify potential local reservoirs
    4. Direct organoleptic assessment by a trained examiner
    Answer

    D. A trained examiner's standardized organoleptic assessment directly evaluates perceived odor and remains the clinical gold standard. Instrumental VSC measurements are useful adjuncts.

  4. A 40-year-old woman develops sudden severe pain, bleeding from the canal and cheek ecchymosis while tooth 45 is being irrigated with sodium hypochlorite. What is the most appropriate management?

    1. Dilute the extrusion with chlorhexidine
    2. Stop, anaesthetise, apply cold compresses
    3. Incise and drain the swelling
    4. Finish irrigation, then obturate
    Answer

    B. Immediate severe pain, bleeding and ecchymosis during irrigation signal hypochlorite extrusion beyond the apex. Treatment is stopped immediately. Provide local anaesthetic, analgesics and initial cold compresses, and assess swelling, sensation and airway involvement. Significant tissue injury, progressive swelling or neurological deficit requires urgent specialist assessment; airway compromise requires emergency care. Routine incision and drainage is not indicated without an abscess. Chlorhexidine is avoided because it forms a precipitate.

  5. A patient prefers a tooth-colored, metal-free implant, and a commonly encountered one-piece zirconia design is being evaluated. Which evidence-and-design profile should be discussed?

    1. Shorter clinical track record and greater prosthetic flexibility
    2. Longer clinical track record and less prosthetic flexibility
    3. Shorter clinical track record and less prosthetic flexibility
    4. Longer clinical track record and greater prosthetic flexibility
    Answer

    C. A commonly encountered one-piece zirconia implant offers a tooth-colored, metal-free option but has a shorter clinical track record and less prosthetic flexibility than titanium-based implant systems.

  6. A child begins escalating during treatment. The dentist suddenly speaks more firmly and slightly louder, the child stops shouting and looks up, and the dentist immediately returns to a warm tone. Which current communication technique is being used?

    1. Apply positive reinforcement
    2. Apply peer modeling
    3. Apply voice control
    4. Apply distraction technique
    Answer

    C. An abrupt, controlled change in tone, volume, or pace used to regain attention is voice control; its purpose is communication rather than punishment.

  7. A patient is scheduled for a difficult mandibular third-molar extraction and has an elevated risk of alveolar osteitis. Which 0.12–0.2% chlorhexidine mouthrinse schedule is the supported preventive regimen?

    1. Begin on postoperative day one and continue for several days.
    2. Begin after the first postoperative days and continue during later healing.
    3. Begin before surgery and continue during the first postoperative days.
    4. Begin before surgery and stop immediately when the extraction is completed.
    Answer

    C. For higher-risk cases such as mandibular third-molar extraction, a 0.12–0.2% chlorhexidine mouthrinse used before surgery and for the first postoperative days is an evidence-based preventive measure. A 0.2% intra-alveolar chlorhexidine gel is another supported option.

  8. A 74-year-old man with Parkinson's disease has a medication-related dry mouth. He sips water through the day and applies a daily high-strength fluoride gel. Which recall and radiographic schedule is appropriate for him?

    1. Yearly; bitewings yearly
    2. Six-monthly; bitewings according to caries risk and examination
    3. Six-monthly; bitewings two-yearly
    4. Yearly; bitewings two-yearly
    Answer

    B. Persistent xerostomia increases caries risk and warrants regular preventive review, reasonably every six months here. Bitewing timing is selected from caries risk, examination findings, previous images and proximal-surface visibility.

Full papers in the real format

10 timed mock papers of 150 questions each, built to the weights above. No question repeats across papers.

How to prepare

  • Our suggested approach: read the case history and radiograph before choosing a diagnosis.
  • Practise local anaesthetic doses and dental emergency steps.
  • Revise oral pathology and drugs alongside clinical topics. Include UAE law, prevention and the health system.
  • DOH gives 72 seconds per question. ProMCQ mocks have 150 questions in 150 minutes, so their pace is faster.

Licensing steps

  1. Check eligibility: Check DOH licence steps.
  2. Book the exam: DOH fees and booking.
  3. Get your result: DOH results and next steps.

Frequently asked questions

What is the DOH dentist pass mark?

DOH sets the pass mark internally. Its catalogue gives no percentage. TAMM shows pass or fail with no score.

Where can you check DOH dentist exam exemptions?

Check DOH licence steps for the routes and conditions. An exemption removes only the exam.

Which books should you use for the DOH dentist exam?

We did not find an official full book list. Send study-material questions to exam@doh.gov.ae.

Do breaks stop the DOH exam clock?

No. Breaks use your exam time (Pearson VUE check-in). Plan them within the 3 hours.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. Licensing Service Catalogue and Licensing Procedural Manual (Circular 151/2024), Department of Health Abu Dhabi
  2. Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements, April 2025, MOHAP, DOH, DHA and SHA
  3. Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements, April 2025, MOHAP, DOH, DHA and SHA
  4. Arrival and taking the exam (DOH programme), Pearson VUE