A clear understanding of the legislative, financial and regulatory issues pertaining to dentistry is a vital component of the all-round competence of every dental professional as reflected in GDC guidelines for both the undergraduate dental curriculum and the profession as a whole.
This computer-administered test is aimed at assessing the extent of your knowledge in key areas while driving learning towards a broad and thorough understanding of the competencies as outlined in the VT and Dental Foundation Competency Document.
Dental Assesment Unit (DAU)
If you have any technical issues in accessing the test please contact the Dental Assessment Unit.
William Cameron (Assistant Dean)
email - William.cameron@nhs.scot
If you have any comments about the content of the test, or suggestions for improvement please contact William Cameron.
All VDPs will be sent an e-mail from the Dental Assessment Unit in November with further details of the Test of Knowledge. The email will state that you will receive a separate email containing a username and login link which will grant you access to the Test of Knowledge. This email will come from Questionmark (please check your spam / junk folders if you do not receive it).
Please Note: The link only allows you to log in to the Questionmark site for one time only without a password, it will then automatically ask you to change your password. Please do not continue to use this link each time you log in as it is only for your initial set up. Your password should be at least 8 characters long, contain a special character and an upper-case letter.
Once you have logged into the test for the first time you can access it on any device by navigating to the following URL:
The test is comprised of two modules: The Prescribing module with a 100% passmark and a Main (managerial) module with a 71% passmark. The scores you obtain for both modules will determine whether you pass the test as a whole.
i.e. To pass the Test of Knowledge you will need to achieve:
100% for the Prescribing Module
plus at least 71% for the Managerial module =
The combined passmark must be at least 74%
N.B. If you score 74% or higher overall, but did not get 100% in the Prescribing module, you have NOT passed the Test of Knowledge.
Prescribing Module
You will start the test with a five-question prescribing module in which you must answer all questions correctly (passmark 100%). The use of the SDCEP ‘Drug Prescribing for Dentistry’ guidance for reference is permitted during the test.
Main (managerial) module
The second module is comprised of a random selection of forty-five questions from a large question bank. If you are taking the test more than once you will be presented with a different set of questions at each sitting. The questions are either in multiple-choice or multiple-response format.
Multiple Choice Questions Candidates select ONE answer from any number of (mutually exclusive) possible answers e.g.1. You have a pair of steel forceps that must be sent back to the manufacturer for repair. Having just used them, you have cleaned them thoroughly to remove all visible deposits. Assuming all necessary sterilising equipment is available to you, which is the most effective process to use to decontaminate the forceps before their dispatch?
Multiple Response Questions Candidates select ONE or MORE correct matching responses from any number of possible answers. To score on these questions, all of the correct responses must be selected, e.g.1. A new patient attends for routine check-up. What should you record?
Your scheme Adviser will let you know when you will be undertaking the invigilated test within an education centre as part of a study day.
Please do not practice the test after midnight on the day before the invigilated test.
You will be provided with the below guidance which you can use as reference throughout the test:
SDCEP - Drug Prescribing for Dentistry
SDCEP - Antibiotic Prophylaxis Against Infective Endocarditis
SDCEP - Management of Dental Patients Taking Anticoagulants or Antiplatelet Drugs
You can have a maximum of three attempts to pass on the day of the test. If you fail to pass after your third attempt, you will need to practice further and pass three practice attempts prior to arranging another sitting at a future date with your Invigilator.
Please note: The system will not prevent these further attempts from happening and this could result in you believing you have legitimately passed only to find sometime later during reporting that a problem has been identified and nullified the result.
The Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme - http://www.sdcep.org.uk/
The British National Formulary - https://bnf.nice.org.uk
Statement of Dental Renumeration - https://www.scottishdental.org/professionals/statement-of-dental-remuneration/
The National Health Service (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2010 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2010/208/contents/made
Health and Safety Executive - https://www.hse.gov.uk
General Dental Council - www.gdc-uk.org/
Government website - https://www.gov.uk and https://www.gov.scot
MME Manual - NES PDF Document