Short answer: DHA’s CBT Guideline lists twelve content areas for the General Dentist exam, which is 150 questions in three hours with a 60 percent pass score. Implantology is 65 percent, eight specialist titles are 60 percent, and seven consultant titles are 100 questions at 70 percent. DHA prints no weights.
What is on the DHA dentist exam?
For the General Dentist (code GEN5301) DHA lists twelve content areas and no weights. The guideline has many more dental titles, from Implantology to consultants, and the numbers differ, so it is worth reading the row for yours. Meddex is independent and is not connected to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) or Prometric.
Key facts and where they come from
From DHA’s CBT Guideline, cover reads “Updated - Sep 2026”, read 15 and 16 October 2026, and the PQR, read 16 October 2026.
- General Dentist: 150 questions, 3 hours, pass score 60 percent, twelve areas, no weights.
- Implantology: 150 questions, 3 hours, pass score 65 percent.
- Eight specialist titles (Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Surgery, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Restorative Dentistry): 150 questions, 3 hours, 60 percent.
- Seven consultant titles: 100 questions, 3 hours, 70 percent.
- Qualification: BDS, DMD, DDS or equivalent plus one year of internship; a General Dentist also needs two years of clinical experience. Source: PQR 9.1 and table 10.
The twelve areas in plain words
DHA gives only the headings. The notes are ours and describe what each heading usually covers in dental teaching.
- Anesthesia and Pain Management: local anaesthetic choice and doses, complications, managing pain.
- Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery: lesions, infections, extractions and surgical complications.
- Periodontics: gum disease, classification, treatment and maintenance.
- Temporomandibular Joint: joint disorders, diagnosis and conservative management.
- Endodontics: pulp and periapical disease, root canal treatment.
- Implant Surgery: planning, placement and complications.
- Restorative Dentistry: caries, materials, crowns and bridges.
- Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry: growth, tooth eruption, child behaviour and early treatment.
- Cosmetic: aesthetic procedures and their limits.
- Deformities and Orthognathic Surgery: jaw and facial deformity and surgical correction.
- Patient Education: prevention, oral hygiene and clear advice.
- Ethics: consent, confidentiality and professional conduct.
What the list does not include
The twelve headings are all dental, except for anaesthesia and pain, patient education and ethics. DHA does not list a general medicine or medical emergencies heading. That does not mean such questions cannot appear, since the headings are broad. It means DHA does not name them, and we do not know. Practise medical emergencies in the dental setting as part of anaesthesia and pain management, and expect some overlap between areas.
How to plan across twelve areas
No weights means no basis for putting more time on one area. A fair first plan, which is ours, is to cover each area once, then spend extra time where your own practice results are weakest. The four-week dentist revision plan gives a structure, and dental local anaesthetic maximum dose calculations covers a calculation topic that sits under the first area.
What does Meddex cover for dentists?
Meddex has a dentist track and a free practice page, but coverage differs by area. Check the dentist hub and the free dentist practice questions for what is there today, and do not rely on practice content alone for areas it does not cover. Timed full mocks are not offered for every profession, so check the app.
What about doses and calculations?
Anesthesia and Pain Management is the first heading DHA lists, and local anaesthetic doses are a natural calculation topic: a maximum dose depends on the patient’s weight, the concentration of the solution and the amount in each cartridge. Practise it step by step, writing the units, and check that your answer is a whole number of cartridges or a sensible fraction. Our guide to dental local anaesthetic maximum dose calculations works four examples.
Always check any dose against the product information and your own guideline. Exam practice is not clinical advice.
How do consultant dental titles differ?
Seven consultant dental titles are listed, each 100 questions in three hours with a pass score of 70 percent. That is fewer questions than the 150 of the general and specialist titles, and a higher bar. We have not recorded their content lists, so read the row for yours. Our page on why sources disagree on 100 or 150 questions explains why this matters when you read a pass-mark or question-count claim.
What we do not know
Related guide
For the hygienist, dental assistant and dental lab titles, see the DHA dental hygienist exam.
Frequently asked questions
This article is general educational guidance, not official advice. Exam rules, fees and timelines are set by the Dubai Health Authority and the test provider and can change, so always confirm the latest details on their official channels. Review of Meddex content by named, licensed clinicians is not complete yet. See how we write and check our content.
Last updated .