ADC Written Exam Blueprint 2026: Every Discipline, Weighting and a 12-Week Study Plan
The ADC publishes exactly how its written examination is built: which disciplines, in what proportions, and how they roll up into the four competency clusters you must each pass. Most candidates never read the table. This guide reproduces the 2026 blueprint, converts it into question counts, and turns it into a 12-week plan.
The exam in one paragraph
280 scenario-based questions over two consecutive days — four sections of 70, two hours each — delivered by Pearson VUE. Each scenario presents a patient, often with radiographs or clinical photographs, followed by five single-best-answer questions. 240 items are scored, 40 are unscored pilots, and your result is a grade (A–D) in each of four competency clusters, all of which you must pass. The handbook describes scored and unscored items only; it does not describe negative marking, so answer every question.
Disciplines and weightings (2026 blueprint)
The ADC's Written Examination Handbook (Rev E, September 2025, applying from the March 2026 sitting) sets these target proportions. The question counts are our arithmetic on 280 items.
| Discipline | Target | ≈ questions |
|---|---|---|
| Restorative dentistry (incl. carious and non-carious tooth surface loss) | 14% | 39 |
| Paediatric dentistry and orthodontics | 10% | 28 |
| Preventive dentistry and behaviour modification | 10% | 28 |
| Periodontics | 9% | 25 |
| Dental emergencies | 8% | 22 |
| General medicine (incl. medical emergencies and special needs dentistry) | 8% | 22 |
| Endodontics | 7% | 20 |
| Oral medicine and pathology | 7% | 20 |
| Oral surgery | 7% | 20 |
| Fixed prosthodontics | 5% | 14 |
| Removable prosthodontics | 5% | 14 |
| Infection prevention and control | 5% | 14 |
| Pain and anxiety management | 5% | 14 |
Three sub-disciplines are assessed across those disciplines rather than as separate blocks — so a pharmacology question may sit inside an oral-surgery or paediatric scenario:
| Cross-cutting sub-discipline | Target | ≈ questions |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmacology | 10% | 28 |
| Radiology | 10% | 28 |
| Implantology | 4% | 11 |
The ADC made minor updates to the general-dentistry blueprint for all sittings from 2026; the handbook above is the current version. Together, the 13 disciplines and three sub-disciplines are the 16 areas you need a plan for.
The four clusters you must each pass
| Cluster | Competency domains (ADC wording) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social responsibility & professionalism (12%) · Health promotion (8%) | 20% |
| 2 | Clinical information gathering | 30% |
| 3 | Diagnosis and management planning | 30% |
| 4 | Clinical treatment and evaluation | 20% |
Disciplines tell you what to study; clusters tell you how questions are asked. A periodontics scenario can generate a Cluster 2 question (interpret the probing chart and radiographs), a Cluster 3 question (diagnosis and plan), a Cluster 4 question (what to do at the review visit) and a Cluster 1 question (consent, record-keeping or a public-health angle). Study each discipline through all four lenses.
The Australian references the ADC points to
The ADC's examination resource list is public. The titles overseas-trained candidates most often have not read — and which Cluster 1 depends on — are Therapeutic Guidelines: Oral and Dental (version 4, 2025), the Australian Dental Association's Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control (5th edition), and ARPANSA's Radiation Protection Series 10 code for dental radiography. The clinical core is standard international texts (Cawson's oral pathology, Carranza's periodontology, Cameron and Widmer's paediatric dentistry, among others). The ADC also publishes a Practice Paper of retired scenarios — without answers, and it prohibits anyone adding them — plus topic resource sheets on cultural safety, rural and remote practice and family violence. The ADC does not recommend or endorse any commercial preparation course.
A 12-week study plan
Weeks 1–2 — baseline and the Australian layer
Take a full diagnostic across all 16 areas and record your score by discipline and by cluster. Read Therapeutic Guidelines: Oral and Dental cover to cover (it is short), the ADA infection-control guidelines and the ARPANSA code. These three fix most Cluster 1 and pharmacology gaps in a fortnight.
Weeks 3–8 — discipline blocks, weighted
Allocate days in proportion to the blueprint: roughly nine days on restorative, six each on paediatrics/orthodontics and preventive dentistry, five on periodontics, and four to five on each of the others, with pharmacology and radiology practised inside every block. Work in scenario sets of five questions, time yourself at about 100 seconds per question (70 questions in two hours), and write down every Australian-specific point you had not known.
Weeks 9–11 — full mocks and cluster review
Sit at least three full-length mocks in the real pattern — two sections of 70 on one day, two on the next, two hours each. After each, review by cluster first. Any cluster below a comfortable B-equivalent gets the following three days; a weak Cluster 1 is treated as the emergency it is, because it fails the whole paper regardless of your clinical scores.
Week 12 — taper and logistics
Light revision of flagged questions only. Confirm your Pearson VUE booking covers both days at the same venue, check ID requirements, and remember that the ADC does not reschedule and does not admit late arrivals. Nothing is permitted at the desk — no calculator, paper or electronics.
Study to the blueprint, automatically
ADC Prep's 6,900+ original scenario-based questions are tagged to all 16 disciplines and four clusters, with radiographs and clinical images, so practice and mocks follow the ADC's own proportions. Free diagnostic, no card required.
Start free with ADC PrepFrequently asked questions
How many disciplines are in the ADC written exam?
Thirteen disciplines (restorative dentistry is the largest at 14%) plus three sub-disciplines assessed across them — pharmacology 10%, radiology 10% and implantology 4% — sixteen areas in total.
Which topic carries the most weight in the ADC written exam?
Restorative dentistry, including carious and non-carious tooth surface loss, at 14% of questions. Paediatric dentistry and orthodontics and preventive dentistry and behaviour modification follow at 10% each.
Are pharmacology and radiology separate sections?
No. They are cross-cutting sub-disciplines — about 10% of questions each — embedded in scenarios from other disciplines.
How many questions are in each section of the ADC written exam?
70 questions per section, two hours per section, four sections over two consecutive days (280 questions; 240 scored and 40 unscored).
Is there negative marking in the ADC written exam?
The ADC handbook does not describe negative marking — it refers only to scored and unscored items — so you should answer every question.
Sources
- ADC — Written Examination Handbook for General Dentistry, Rev E Sept 2025 (blueprint Table 1, format, grading) — https://www.adc.org.au/files/assessment/handbooks/ADC_Written_Examination_Handbook_for_General_Dentistry.pdf
- ADC — Blueprint updates for written examinations from 2026 — https://www.adc.org.au/?p=22651
- ADC — Examination resource list (PDF) — https://www.adc.org.au/files/assessment/resources/ADC_Written_Exam_Resource_List.pdf
- ADC — Practice Paper 2026 (PDF) — https://www.adc.org.au/files/assessment/exam-materials/ADC-Practice-Paper-2026.pdf
- ADC — Handbooks, resource sheets and materials — https://www.adc.org.au/internationally-qualified-dental-practitioners/additional-information/handbooks-materials/
- ADC — Written examination page — https://www.adc.org.au/internationally-qualified-dental-practitioners/dentists/written-examination/
KeysMedic is an independent exam-preparation service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Australian Medical Council (AMC), the Australian Dental Council (ADC) or Ahpra. Exam rules, fees and dates are set by those bodies and can change — always confirm current details on their official websites before you apply. Figures above are quoted from the official sources listed, as at 10 October 2026.