Your dental question bank is suitable only if it matches your examination, jurisdiction and current assessment version. ORE Part 1, MFDS Part 1 and NDEB AFK are not interchangeable routes. Check the official requirements and sample explanations before buying, then identify which preparation tasks the selected bank leaves uncovered.
iatroX publishes this dental-resource comparison and includes its own examination banks. The recommendations distinguish qualification, jurisdiction and assessment version before considering the convenience of a shared learning platform. Product descriptions and resource availability throughout are dated 6 September 2026.
Some foundational knowledge will overlap. That does not make the examinations interchangeable or justify following the same revision schedule for all three.
Establish which route you are preparing for
The GDC's ORE Part 1 guidance describes an assessment of applying knowledge to clinical practice, with papers covering dental science and human disease, and clinical dentistry. Its content includes professional and contextual subjects as well as biomedical knowledge.
MFDS is a postgraduate dental qualification. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh's MFDS page explains its purpose and, importantly, the transition towards a new tri-collegiate examination during 2026 and 2027. Candidates should establish which version and sitting their preparation materials address.
The NDEB AFK assesses biomedical and applied clinical science knowledge within the Canadian Equivalency Process. It has its own protocol, question format and familiarisation resources.
Those distinctions should determine the first filter in your resource search. A broad "dentistry" label is not sufficient evidence of assessment alignment.
Compare the right features
Instead of starting with price, open a sample question and the relevant official assessment information side by side. Ask what the resource allows you to practise and what it expects you already to know.
| Preparation route | First official check | Question to put to a resource provider |
|---|---|---|
| ORE Part 1 | GDC content and paper requirements | How does the bank cover both knowledge areas and applied context? |
| MFDS Part 1 | Current College guidance and transition arrangements | Which examination version is the content mapped to? |
| NDEB AFK | NDEB protocol and familiarisation material | How does the practice match the AFK task and current content? |
A credible answer should describe scope rather than promise that the product covers "everything". Some resources are useful precisely because they teach one difficult area particularly well.
ORE Part 1: look beyond biomedical recall
A candidate may enjoy anatomy and dental materials questions while repeatedly postponing professional-context topics. A large completion total can therefore conceal an uneven preparation plan.
Use the GDC outline to audit the breadth of what you have attempted. Then inspect explanations in the areas you have avoided. Do they connect the preferred answer to the facts in the question? Is the relevant professional context explained rather than reduced to an unsupported rule?
The GDC's page also links preparation and results information. Treat official material as the basis for assessment requirements, while using a commercial bank for additional practice. Do not assume a revision provider's score is an official readiness measure.
MFDS: make the version visible
The transition makes older recommendations particularly difficult to interpret. A former candidate may have used a resource successfully, yet their account alone cannot establish that it matches your current examination.
Check the College's linked transition information before committing to a long subscription. Ask a provider to identify the examination specification it uses, the date of its mapping and any relevant content changes. Do not infer current alignment from a recently updated website footer.
The College also identifies learning opportunities such as revision webinars. These may be useful where an explanation or structured teaching session is needed rather than more independent questions. Match the resource to the gap: content review, examination practice and feedback are related but different purchases.
AFK: use the official familiarisation opportunities
The NDEB provides an online self-assessment and examination-orientation information. Its AFK page explicitly cautions that a self-assessment result does not guarantee the required examination outcome.
Use that material to understand the kind of task being assessed and the response process. For supplementary resources, examine how explanations distinguish closely related options and whether they help you revisit the underlying science.
Do not automatically import professional assumptions from a UK-focused dental bank into a Canadian assessment. Where context matters, use the relevant Canadian source and the NDEB's current guidance rather than relying on a resource intended for another route.
A simple test of explanation quality
Take an original fictional question in which two options look plausible. Before revealing the answer, write one sentence explaining the feature that would distinguish them. Then compare that sentence with the resource's explanation.
A useful explanation shows which detail matters and why. A less useful one merely restates the preferred option with more confident wording. If the difficulty is foundational, look for a route into explanatory teaching rather than memorising the final sentence.
Repeat this exercise with a different question later. The aim is to apply the distinction without recognising the previous wording. This is a suggested learning exercise, not a validated method of predicting your score.
Where iatroX fits in a dental revision plan
The iatroX examination catalogue lists ORE Part 1, MFDS Part 1 and NDEB AFK pathways. Select the relevant bank, then use questions, the Socratic Tutor and study planning to address a specific knowledge or reasoning difficulty.
For MFDS, check the current mapping against your sitting rather than assuming that the familiar product label establishes transition coverage. For AFK, retain official NDEB material for examination requirements. An integrated platform still needs to be used within the correct assessment context.
For UK reference pricing, the published subscription on 6 September 2026 is £99 paid upfront for a year, equivalent to £8.25 a month billed annually, with £29 monthly access as the alternative. It combines paid question banks, Socratic Tutor, the study planner, iatroX Simulations and CPD tools. Neither simulations nor CPD require an additional subscription. This is a UK reference price, not a currency conversion or a quotation for a different regional checkout.
Under the same September 2026 access terms, Ask-iatroX and free question access remain genuinely free, with no trial expiry or verification gate. That does not make every full examination bank or ongoing Tutor access free; choose the paid tools only when their learning functions address your goal.
ORE Part 2 simulations provide a separate opportunity for supported clinical reasoning and communication practice. They should not be presented as practical skills training or as a clinical simulation track for every dental qualification. Keep supervised and hands-on preparation where your assessment requires it.
Which resource fits your preparation?
Choose official materials to establish the current examination and inspect a provider's samples for the relevant jurisdiction and version. iatroX is worth considering for its named dental banks and connected learning tools; a more specific resource is preferable when it provides preparation for a task the selected bank does not cover.
Frequently asked questions
Can I choose a dental bank solely by its question count?
No. Establish examination, jurisdiction, version and explanation quality before comparing the advertised quantity.
How should I assess MFDS material during an examination transition?
Check the provider's stated mapping against the requirements for your sitting. A familiar legacy label does not prove that every element of the current assessment is covered.
Does ORE Part 2 simulation imply an AFK or MFDS clinical simulator?
No. The September 2026 iatroX coverage should be read by named pathway, without extending a simulation claim to unrelated dental assessments.