• can obtain and utilise patient information; and
• demonstrate competence in New Zealand's preventive approach to oral health care for individuals and the community; and
• are competent in a wide range of interventive strategies to manage oral disease and disability; and
• can assess the effectiveness of intervention.

Overview of the examination

• Structure of the examination [+]

  The clinical examination is held over five days. You must perform satisfactorily in the first three days of the examination, before proceeding to the second part of the examination where you treat patients.
  The examination is divided into six components:
   

  • OSCE [+]
    
     
    

    This is an objective, structured, clinical examination that tests theoretical and practical knowledge. You will be asked to write brief answers to questions or perform tasks relating to clinical care. You must be prepared to explain the scientific basis of clinical decisions. Typical tasks take 10 minutes and may include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, prescription writing, and problems of diagnosis and treatments, based on radiographs, photographs and study models. The total examination time is approximately two hours.
     

     
    
  • Simulation 1, Simulation 2 & Simulation 3 [+]
    
     
    

    You simulate a wide range of tasks and procedures using manikins in a clinic. There are 7.5 hours of operating over three half-days. A dental assistant works with you. Procedures may include operative, periodontal, paediatric, prosthodontic, endodontic or orthodontic tasks.
    Examiners evaluate the way you perform the tasks and the final results.
     

     
    
  • Visual Interpretation [+]
    
     
    

    You view images in a lecture room setting and write short notes in answer to written questions. The images may be photographs, drawings or radiographs. The questions may cover the aetiology, diagnosis and clinical management of oro-facial disorders, treatment options, the uses of materials or equipment, or any other topic relevant to general dental practice.
     

     
    
  • Patient Clinical Procedures [+]
    
     
    

    Your performance in the first three days of the examination is discussed at an examiners' meeting chaired by the Examinations Director (appointed by the DCNZ and not an examiner). If you perform satisfactorily you proceed to see patients. Note that proceeding is not the same as passing. Proceeding means that the examiners consider you are safe to examine and treat patients under supervision and for the purposes of the examination.
     
    Patients
     
    You will perform various clinical procedures for patients. Some procedures are irreversible. The procedures will normally be completed in less than one hour.
     
    The components are:
     
    

    • Restorative Dentistry and Periodontology
    • Exodontia and Local Analgesia
    • Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics
    • Oral Medicine and Diagnosis
    • Communication Skills

     
    Procedures tested may vary. However, they will normally include all of the following:
     
    

    • administration of analgesia; and
    • exodontia or minor oral surgery; and
    • history, examination, problem solving and treatment planning for patients of different ages and states of health; and
    • specific clinical procedures from the range expected of a general dental practitioner in New Zealand.

     
    During the time you are interviewing and examining the patient in the Oral Medicine and Diagnosis component, your Communication Skills will be evaluated by two examiners.
    You are expected to have mastered the current BDS (Otago) communication competencies that are basic to the establishment of rapport with patients. The requirements are that an applicant should be able to:
     
    

    • greet a patient warmly and introduce himself or herself confidently; and
    • attend to the patient's comfort, for example to offer to hang up coats and hats, ensure the patient is seated comfortably, and minimise distractions; and
    • arrange the local environment so that it is appropriate for an interview, ensure that the patient is in an upright position, that the applicant is facing the patient at the same height, with due attention to personal space; and
    • use open-ended questions to obtain information, and provide feedback in the form of reflective responses to indicate that what the patient is saying is important; and
    • use non-verbal behaviour that demonstrates attentiveness and active listening; and
    • give uncomplicated information, using terms that the patient can understand; and
    • summarise for the patient the findings and accomplishment of the interaction; and
    • close the interaction in a warm and confident matter; and
    • to elicit accurate medical and dental histories from patients; and
    • to react appropriately during analgesic procedures so as to minimise clinician and patient anxiety; and
    • to demonstrate a skilled and caring approach to patients; and
    • to show a professional interaction with colleagues and staff; and
    • to understand the principles and practice of providing health advice and optimising client compliance.

     
    

     
    

   
  

   
  

• Passing criteria [+]

  Each component of the examination will be assessed by two examiners. You will be awarded a grade (A to E) for each component of the examination.
   
  A, B and C are pass grades, while D and E denote a lack of clinical competence or a lack of professional skills and are considered potentially dangerous and /or unacceptable.
   
  You must obtain a C- grade or higher in each of the five components of the examination to gain an overall pass in the clinical examination. If you receive a grade lower than a C in any component of the examination, it will be deemed as a fail and you will be required to re-sit the entire clinical examination.
   
  Recent pass rates [+]
  

   
  

  Date	Pass Rate
  23-27 November 2009	26.0%
  22-26 June 2009	58.0%
  9-13 February 2009	68.0%
  24-28 November 2008	56.0%
  16-20 June 2008	53.0%
  11-15 February 2008	68.0%

   
  

   
  

   
  

• Attempts policy [+]

  Applicants who have failed any component (written and clinical examinations combined) three times collectively, within three years from the date of first sitting the written examination, will NOT be permitted re-entry into the examinations.
   
  The above will also apply for any Australian Dental Registration Examination component failure(s) and will therefore be deemed as a failed attempt(s) of any of the NZDREX components.
   
  Council strongly advises applicants who have two failed NZDREX attempts to undertake a course of re-training prior to commencing the third and final NZDREX attempt.
   
  

   
  

• Australian Dental Council transfers [+]

  Applicants are allowed to transfer from the ADC registration process. Those applicants will have to comply fully with the then current NZDREX policies.
   
  Please note that places in the clinical examination are strictly limited and preference will be given to those New Zealand based applicants already enrolled in the DCNZ registration process, according to the selection criteria for entry.
   
  

   
  

• Appeals [+]

  If you feel that you have performed poorly in the clinical examination because of illness or personal circumstances, you must advise DCNZ immediately and submit written evidence to support your claim, including a recent medical certificate. You must send these documents within seven days after the examination. Medical certificates will not be accepted after the examination results are posted.
   
  No examination result can be overturned in this process, but the Council has the discretion to waive or reduce the fee for the next set of examinations.
   
  Do not communicate directly with the examiners. Send all correspondence to DCNZ.
   
  

   
  

Logistics & Administration

• Enrolment closing dates [+]

  Applicants must ensure that their clinical examination enrolment form reaches the office of the DCNZ by no later than the closing dates listed (see Examinations Timetable. Late applications will not be accepted and/or considered.
   
  

   
  

• Selection Criteria for Entry [+]

  The clinical examination can accommodate a maximum of 32 applicants. If more than 32 applicants apply, the Council gives priority, in the following order, to applicants who:
   
  

  1. Are new and have been declined a place once, or have failed and subsequently been declined a place twice (other than priority 7).
  2. Have passed the written examination, in the first attempt, ranked on the basis of their marks.
  3. Have been exempted from the written examination.
  4. Have passed the written examination, but required more than one attempt, ranked on the basis of their marks.
  5. Have failed the clinical examination and subsequently been declined a place once.
  6. Have failed the clinical examination and are making their first application to resit.
  7. Have transferred from the ADC preliminary examination process.
  8. Have failed the clinical examination and been advised of the desirability of retraining before resitting.

   
  

   
  

• Venue [+]

  The clinical examination is conducted at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
   
  University of Otago
  School of Dentistry
  280 Great King Street
  DUNEDIN, New Zealand
   
  You are required to produce proof of identity, usually a passport. Any additional details will be provided prior to the examination by the examination organisers.
   
  

   
  

• Examination fees [+]

  The examination fee is payable at the time of application.
   
  

   
  

• Withdrawal fees [+]

  If you decide to withdraw from the clinical examination you must advise the DCNZ immediately to allow your place to be offered to another applicant.
   
  A withdrawal fee would apply for any cancellation:
   
  

  Notice of withdrawal from examination received before closing date	20% of fee will be forfeited
  Notice of withdrawal from examination received after the closing date and at least 14 days before the first day of the examination	50% of fee will be forfeited
  Notice of withdrawal from examination received less than 14 days before the first day of the examination	100% of fee will be forfeited (unless a medical certificate can be supplied, in which case 40% of the fee will be forfeited)

   
  If you withdraw from the clinical examination you will be given the same priority for a place in a subsequent examination as an applicant who fails. In exceptional circumstances such as severe illness or urgent domestic problems, the Dental Council may refund part of the fee and/or maintain your previous priority placing. You must produce documented proof of the exceptional circumstances.
   
  

   
  

• Results [+]

  Final results are awarded at an examiners' meeting at the completion of the examination. Results are posted to applicants after at least one week following the completion of the examination.
   
  Please note that NO results will be given by phone, fax or email.
   
  

   
  

General

• Preparation tips [+]

  Try to rest before the examination.
  Dress comfortably.
  Allow time for travel.
  Locate the venue for each component of the examination the day before the examination.
  Bring a watch.
  Practise your English.
  If you are uncertain about any instruction or question from the examiners, ask for clarification.
   
  

   
  

Reference Material

• Reference material [+]

  The following publications do not form the basis of the clinical examination, however may be used as a general resource for applicants.
   
  The texts are available from the North Shore Hospital Library (reference only). Applicants will be granted access to these texts during opening hours. Those marked with an * are also available from the Wellington City Library.
   
  North Shore Hospital Library
   
  Lower Ground Floor
  North Shore Hospital
  Cnr Shakespeare & Taharota Road
  North Shore
  AUCKLAND
  Tel: 09 486 8920 ext 2534
   
  Wellington City Library
   
  Science & Humanities reference Area
  First Floor
  65 Victoria Street
  WELLINGTON
  Tel: 04 801 4074
   
  

  	Author	Title	Publisher	Edition
  *	Summitt JB et al	Fundamentals of Operative Dentistry. A Contemporary Approach	Quintessence	3rd 2006
  	Johnson DR & Moore WJ	Anatomy for Dental Students	Oxford University Press	3rd 1997
  	Burkitt HG et al (Editors)	Wheater's Functional Histology - A Text & Colour Atlas	Churchill Livingstone	3rd 1993
  	Dow J et al	Biochemistry: Molecules, Cells and the Body	Addison Wesley	1996
  *	Kumar V et al	Basic Pathology	Saunders	6th 1997
  	Bagg J et al	Essentials of Microbiology for Dental Students	Oxford University Press	1999
  	Walton JG et al	Textbook of Dental Pharmacology & Therapeutics	Oxford University Press	2nd 1994
  	Kardos TB & Kieser JA	Oral Structural Biology	Otago University Press	2nd 2000
  	Okeson JP	Management of Temporomandibular Disorders and Occlusion	Mosby Year Book	3rd 1993
  	Zarb GA & Bolender CL.	Boucher's Prosthodontic Treatment for Edentulous Patients	Mosby Year Book	12th 2004
  	Schroeder H (Translated by Jacobi R)	Oral Structural Biology	Thieme Medical	1991
  	Wilson TG & Kornman KS	Fundamentals of Periodontics	Quintessence	1996
  	Stewart KL et al	Clinical Removable Partial Prosthodontics	Ishiyaku EuroAmerica	2nd 1992
  *	Proffit WR et al	Contemporary Orthodontics	Mosby Year Book	2nd 1993
  *	Soames JV & Southam JC	Oral Pathology	Oxford University Press	3rd 1998
  	Neville BW et al.	Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology	WB Saunders Co.	2nd 2002
  *	Rosenstiel SF et al	Contemporary Fixed Prosthodontics	Mosby Year Book	4th 2006
  	Pitt Ford TR	Harty's Endodontics in Clinical Practice	Wright, Edinburgh	5th 2004
  	Wright GZ et al	Child Management in Dentistry	John Wright	1987
  	Agur AMR & Lee MJ (Editors)	Grant's Atlas of Anatomy	Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
  	Freer JJ	Orthodontic Diagnostic Principles	University of Queensland	1998
  	MacEntee MI	The Complete Denture: a Clinical Pathway	Quintessence
  	Stevens A & Lowe J	Human Histology	Mosby-Year Book Europe
  *	Anusavice KJ	Phillips' Science of Dental Materials	Saunders	11th 2003
  *	Campell MK	Biochemistry	Saunders
  *	Kidd EAM & Joyston-Bechal S	Essentials of Dental Caries	Oxford University Press
  *	McGivney GP & Carr AB	McCracken's Removable Partial Prosthodontics	Mosby	10th 2000
  *	Vander AJ et al	Human Physiology	WCB/McGraw Hill
  	Cameron A & Widmer R (Editors)	Handbook of Paediatric Dentistry	Mosby-Wolfe	1997
  	Welbury RR (Editor)	Paediatric Dentistry	Oxford University Press	1997
  	Petersen et al	Contemporary Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	Mosby Year Book	3rd 1998

   
  

   
  

Further Information

• Eligibility Criteria for the NZDREX Written Examination
  
• Eligibility Application Form and Fee
  
• Sitting the NZDREX Written Examination
  
• Eligibility Criteria for the NZDREX Clinical Examination
  
• Submitting NZDREX Clinical Examination Enrolment Form and Fee
  
• Registering with DCNZ