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ADEX Exam Guide

The American Dental Examination — restorative procedures, OSCE stations, patient communication, scoring criteria, and fail points. Everything linked in one place.

What the ADEX tests

  • Class II and Class III cavity preparations on live patients
  • Provisional crown fabrication and evaluation
  • Periodontal assessment — probing, calculus detection, and scaling
  • OSCE stations — medical history review, radiology, emergencies, ethics, infection control
  • Patient communication and consent
  • Scoring rubrics and critical fail points across all sections
  • Pharmacology essentials and emergency drug knowledge

5 tips for passing the ADEX

  1. Know the fail points before you start — one critical error can end your exam regardless of everything else.
  2. Practice Class II and Class III preps on typodonts under timed conditions — speed and precision both matter.
  3. OSCE stations are protocol-based — memorize the checklist structure, not paragraphs of theory.
  4. For the perio section, practice systematic probing and calling numbers out loud — examiners watch your technique.
  5. Emergency and pharmacology stations are High Yield — the drug kit contents and doses are finite and memorizable.

Overview & scoring

What Is the ADEX Exam?

Format, sections, timing, and what to expect on exam day.

ADEX Scoring & Fail Points

How each section is scored and the critical errors that cause automatic failure.

Restorative procedures

ADEX Class II Preparation

Step-by-step prep with ADEX-specific scoring criteria and common errors.

ADEX Class III Preparation

Anterior composite prep technique, access, and finishing for ADEX scoring.

ADEX Provisional Crown Preparation

Crown prep and provisional fabrication with margin and occlusion checkpoints.

Restorative Errors & Fail Points

The most common restorative mistakes and how to avoid them on exam day.

OSCE stations

ADEX OSCE Overview

Station types, timing, and how to approach each one systematically.

Medical History Review OSCE

How to review and flag medical conditions with dental relevance.

Emergencies OSCE

Emergency recognition and management protocols for the ADEX OSCE.

Radiology OSCE

Radiographic interpretation station — what to identify and how to present findings.

Ethics & Legal OSCE

Consent, confidentiality, and ethical scenarios tested in the ADEX.

Infection Control & PPE OSCE

Standard precautions, instrument processing, and PPE protocol.

Patient Communication OSCE

How to explain treatment, obtain consent, and handle difficult conversations.

Treatment Planning OSCE

Structuring a treatment plan under timed OSCE conditions.

Clinical knowledge

Periodontal Assessment OSCE

Probing technique, calculus detection, and scaling assessment for ADEX.

Local Anesthesia OSCE

Technique, dosage, and safety checks tested in the ADEX LA station.

Pharmacology Essentials

Key drugs, doses, interactions, and prescribing rules for the ADEX.

Emergency Drug Kit

What's in the kit, doses, and when to use each drug.

Radiographic Interpretation

Systematic approach to reading radiographs for the ADEX.

Common ADEX Viva Questions

Frequently asked viva questions with structured answer frameworks.

Related exam skills

Common OSCE Mistakes How to Structure Viva Answers Universal OSCE Checklist Class II Preparation Steps

How DentAIstudy helps

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  • Identify your weak areas and get personalized recommendations
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  • Get AI-generated task breakdowns, study plans, and checklists
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