NHRA dental exam: practice and paper requirements

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

Finish internship before booking the NHRA dental exam (exam booklet). For practice, work through the case and choose the next clinical step.

Is this the right paper for you?

This practice covers General Dentist. NHRA rejects dental exams taken before or during internship (exam booklet). ProMCQ does not cover specialist dentistry. If you are Bahraini or a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) national, a valid GCC licence can let you skip the exam (rules).

Pass 60%

Format at a glance

Question count not published. Time: 2.5 hours of exam time in a 3-hour seating (Prometric). Pass mark: 60%.

Delivered by Prometric.

Sources: NHRA exam booklet, Prometric NHRA page

NHRA's exam booklet and Prometric's NHRA page do not give a question count.

What the paper covers

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

  • Biomedical Sciences (20%): Study the mouth’s anatomy and disease. Include how drugs and microbes affect it.
  • Evidence-based Practice (3.3%): Identify a study’s design. Read its results and weigh the evidence.
  • Patient Assessment and Diagnosis (6.7%): Take a history, examine the patient and read X-rays. Choose the next test.
  • Comprehensive Treatment Planning (4%): Plan the order of care. Choose which problem to treat first.
  • Health and Safety (4%): Prevent infection, sterilise tools and protect from radiation. Know how to handle sharps injuries.
  • Management of Emergencies (4%): Know what to do for a faint, anaphylaxis, hypoglycaemia or chest pain in the chair.
  • Prevention / Oral Health / Population Health (4%): Assess caries risk. Study fluoride, fissure sealants and oral health in the population.
  • Control of Pain and Anxiety (3.3%): Choose local anaesthetic and safe doses. Study failed blocks and sedation.
  • Periodontics (6.7%): Name the type of gum disease. Know how to diagnose and treat it.
  • Pediatric Dentistry (6.7%): Study behaviour, pulp care in primary teeth, trauma and space maintenance.
  • Orthodontics (3.3%): Study growth and malocclusion. Know when to refer.
  • Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics (10.7%): Study caries and materials. Include access, canal preparation and why root canal treatment fails.
  • Prosthodontics (6.7%): Study crowns, bridges and dentures. Include margins, impressions and how teeth meet.
  • Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine (6.7%): Study extractions and problems after them. Include mouth lesions and patients with other illnesses.
  • Communication Skills (4%): Get consent and explain options. Handle complaints and worried parents.
  • Professionalism (2.7%): Keep records, protect privacy and work within your skills.
  • Ethical and legal (2%): Study ethical dilemmas and Bahrain legal duties.
  • Team-working, Management, Leadership (1.3%): Work with dental nurses, hygienists and the wider team.

Sample questions

These are eight original ProMCQ practice questions with explanations. Select an answer to see the explanation.

  1. A 6-year-old child is beginning permanent tooth eruption. Which tooth is typically the first permanent tooth to erupt?

    1. A maxillary central incisor
    2. A permanent second molar
    3. A mandibular first molar
    4. A permanent third molar
    Answer

    C. The mandibular permanent first molar, or six-year molar, is typically the first permanent tooth to erupt.

  2. A post is required to retain the core of a root-filled maxillary first premolar with separate buccal and palatal roots. Which root is generally preferred for post placement when anatomy permits?

    1. Use the buccal root because it is usually larger and straighter.
    2. Use the palatal root because it is usually larger and straighter.
    3. Use both roots to obtain greater retention for the core.
    4. Use either root, selecting the canal by post color alone.
    Answer

    B. In a two-rooted maxillary first premolar, the palatal root is typically larger in diameter and straighter, making it the more favorable site for a post.

  3. A patient has a spreading odontogenic infection that requires urgent source control. How should this urgency be represented in the ASA physical status designation?

    1. Replace the numeric ASA class with E.
    2. Increase the numeric ASA class by one level.
    3. Append E to the existing numeric ASA class.
    4. Assign E as a separate seventh ASA class.
    Answer

    C. The emergency modifier is added to the patient's baseline numeric class, such as ASA IVE. It modifies the procedure's urgency and does not replace or create an ASA class.

  4. A 61-year-old woman attends a supportive periodontal therapy visit 4 months after completing active periodontitis treatment. Radiographs taken today show no change in bone levels compared with her previous images. What is the most appropriate periodontal assessment at this visit?

    1. Radiographic comparison alone
    2. Plaque score recording only
    3. Full probing and bleeding charting
    4. Re-establish stage and grade
    Answer

    C. At each SPT visit the periodontium is re-examined with probing depths, bleeding on probing, mobility, plaque and calculus, and compared with prior records. New or increasing pocketing or bleeding signals recurrence. Radiographs are reviewed and new images are taken when indicated, but they complement rather than replace probing and bleeding assessment, so stable radiographs do not remove the need for full charting.

  5. Four patients are reviewed after implant treatment. Which clinical course represents early implant failure?

    1. An implant functions for years before inflammation and progressive supporting-bone loss develop
    2. An implant remains stable while its single crown becomes mobile under occlusal loading
    3. An implant never becomes stable and is mobile when prosthetic loading is attempted
    4. An implant functions before chronic parafunction contributes to loss of supporting tissues
    Answer

    C. The implant never established stable osseointegration and was mobile when loading was attempted, so the failure occurred early.

  6. Radiographs confirm a displaced socket-wall fracture involving a segment that contains several permanent teeth. Which immediate management plan is most appropriate?

    1. Reposition each involved tooth separately and splint them for about 4 weeks
    2. Reposition the whole segment en bloc and splint it for about 2 weeks
    3. Reposition the whole segment en bloc and splint it for about 4 weeks
    4. Reposition each involved tooth separately and splint them for about 2 weeks
    Answer

    C. An alveolar process fracture is a bone injury involving a multi-tooth segment. The whole displaced segment should be repositioned en bloc and splinted across the segment for about 4 weeks, with later vitality monitoring of every involved tooth.

  7. A displaced cheek and orbital-rim injury has been confirmed. Acute swelling initially limits accurate assessment of the facial contour. Which timing principle best guides repair?

    1. Plan repair during the acute swelling phase, before reassessment of the malar contour
    2. Plan repair after several weeks, once fibrous healing has stabilized the fragments
    3. Plan repair at about 1–2 weeks, after useful swelling reduction but before fibrous fixation
    4. Plan osteotomy after the displaced fragments have healed in their new position
    Answer

    C. Displaced ZMC injury is generally repaired early, commonly at about 1–2 weeks, when swelling has settled enough for assessment but before fibrous healing fixes the fragments in a displaced position.

  8. A 26-year-old man vapes a nicotine e-liquid daily. At his check-up he tells the dentist he chose vaping because it is harmless to his mouth. What should the dentist tell him?

    1. Safe alternative to cigarette smoking
    2. Protective against gingival bleeding
    3. Harmless unless used with cigarettes
    4. Not harmless; nicotine is addictive
    Answer

    D. E-cigarettes are not harmless. Many contain addictive nicotine, and the aerosol can contain potentially harmful substances. The dentist should correct the belief that vaping is safe.

Timed practice papers

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

How to prepare

  • Read the finding first. Then think through the case before you look at the choices. Choose what is wrong or what to do next.
  • Revise local anaesthetic maximum doses by weight and first drugs for chairside emergencies.
  • NHRA’s dental reading list groups books by specialty. It includes Proffit, Shillingburg, Carranza, Lindhe and Ingle.
  • Use the Bahrain caries, fluoride and law notes for local topics.

Licensing steps

  1. Check the licence steps: Check your title and documents. Apply through Mehan. Read the guide
  2. Check costs and book: Get NHRA’s approval and your code before you book. Read the guide
  3. Send your result: Send your report through Mehan. Check what to do next. Read the guide

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass mark for the NHRA dental exam?

60%. NHRA’s booklet and Prometric agree for dentistry.

Where can you find sample questions?

Use the NHRA dental samples. Each sample has an explanation.

What should you do after the exam?

Send your report through Mehan. Follow NHRA results and next steps if you pass or fail.

Which books should you use?

Use NHRA’s book list for your profession.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. Licensure Examination 2022, updated, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA)
  2. National Health Regulatory Authority examination programme, Prometric
  3. Frequently Asked Questions: Mehan, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA)
  4. Dental Professional Qualification Requirements, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA)
  5. Approximate Cost, Cost - Aug 2022, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA)
  6. Annual Report 2022, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA)
  7. Dental Examination References, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA)
  8. Customer Reference for NHRA, DataFlow Group