AFK format: 200 questions in 2 parts

The exam day

• 200 single answer multiple choice questions, delivered in 2 parts in a single day.
• Two hours for each part, four hours in all, with one scheduled break.
• Delivery: computer based at Prometric test centers, or booklet format at select exam sites.
• The World Dental Federation (FDI) two-digit tooth numbering system is used in all NDEB examinations.

If you learned Universal or Palmer numbers, the tooth numbering converter gives the FDI number for any tooth, so a question about tooth 36 reads the way it will on exam day.

The purpose of the AFK, in NDEB's words, is to test your knowledge of biomedical science and applied clinical science. It is the first exam of the Equivalency Process, and a passing grade is required before you can continue to the other exams. Exam items are based on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for beginning dental practitioners in Canada, listed in NDEB's exam resources.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026.

The nine blueprint areas

The blueprint gives the content areas and the approximate share of questions in each. Each share can differ by 5 points either way. The topics in the last column come from MolarPath's own content map. They show what each area covers in practice and are our own grouping.

NDEB's protocol lists the sciences behind the first area: anatomy, biochemistry, biomaterials, cariology, growth and development, histology, immunology, microbiology, oral embryology and physiology. The remaining areas follow the headings in the table.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026.

What can differ from training at home

NDEB states how its exams are built, and those statements show what is likely to be new to a graduate of a non-accredited program.

• Canadian content. Exam items are based on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for beginning dental practitioners in Canada, listed in NDEB's exam resources. NDEB publishes a list of reference texts used in Canadian faculties of dentistry. It also references journal articles, clinical guidelines and practice standards from specialty organizations.
• Who writes the questions. A committee mostly of general dentists recommended by provincial dental regulators selects the questions. Content experts, mostly faculty of Canadian dental faculties, develop and review them.
• Tooth numbering. The exam uses FDI. The exam day section above has the converter link.
• Professional topics. The last blueprint area, Evidence-Based Dentistry, Prevention, Infection Control, Ethics and Jurisprudence, carries about 5% of the questions, so ethics and jurisprudence are tested next to the clinical areas.

The free placement check shows your gaps by subject. The ACJ and the NDECC test other skills, and the pathway page describes each.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026, NDEB exam resources, NDEB scoring and equating.

Studying by blueprint weight

The shares tell you where the points are. Applied Biomedical Sciences is about 20% of the exam, which is roughly 40 questions, more than Periodontics and Endodontics combined. Restorative, Prosthodontics and Implants and Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology together add about 31%. The first three areas make up about 51% of the questions.

Weight is not the only factor. A small area still has questions, and with a margin of 5 points either way the share on your exam version could be higher or lower than the printed one. A baseline mock shows which of your areas costs you most, and the weights then tell you which of those to fix first.

One way to use the table is to set study time in proportion to weight, then adjust for your own results. If you have ten study hours in a week, two of them go to biomedical sciences and about 1.6 to restorative work before you adjust. This split is our own planning suggestion, and NDEB sets no study split. A free mini mock gives you a first look at your own profile, and the exam dates page has a month-by-month plan. The study planner makes that split for you from your exam date and weekly hours.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026.

What a question looks like

Every AFK question is a single answer multiple-choice question. Select the most likely or most appropriate answer, and always answer, even when you are unsure. Each question has a value of one, so a hard question is worth the same as an easy one, which is a reason to keep moving.

Questions test knowledge of biomedical and applied clinical science. Because NDEB asks for the most likely or most appropriate answer, more than one option can look reasonable and one fits best. The example below shows the shape: a short stem and four options.

NDEB publishes released questions and sample material in its exam resources, and we do not copy or adapt them. Released exam materials are for personal use only. Using NDEB exam content commercially is prohibited, including the released materials on its website. If you want practice in the same style, write your own questions from your notes, or use a bank whose questions are original.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026, NDEB exam resources.

Time per question

4 hours of testing for 200 questions is about 1.2 minutes a question, or about 72 seconds. NDEB does not state how many questions sit in each part, so treat that figure as an average across the exam.

A workable rhythm is to read the stem, find what is asked and answer from knowledge on the first pass, then mark the questions that need longer and return to them. A wrong answer costs nothing, so leave no question blank. In a part of 2 hours, finishing ten minutes early leaves room to review the flagged ones.

The break is a pause between the two parts, and NDEB's protocol does not state how long it is or whether the clock keeps running. A computer-based exam may have short technical delays, and NDEB has allowed for them in the time given. Timed mocks that use the real part lengths are the best way to build a pace.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026.

Exam day: ID, arrival and what to bring

• ID. Current government-issued photo ID: a driver's license, a passport or a provincial photo ID card. The ID must be in English or French, show the name as it appears in the online profile and not be expired. An ID with no expiry date must have been issued in the last 10 years. Photocopies and digital images are not accepted. A candidate without government-issued photo ID is not permitted to take the exam.
• Arrival. A candidate who arrives late may be denied entry. NDEB posts a location memo to your online profile usually within 2 weeks of the registration deadline, with the schedule and exact location.
• Check-in. Staff may inspect eyeglasses, jewelry and other accessories at each entry to the room. Candidates are advised to wear no jewelry except wedding rings.
• Confidentiality. Candidates read and agree to a Confidentiality and Non-disclosure Agreement before starting. It bars them from sharing any part of the exam in any form.
• Provided. Scratch paper, a pencil and an eraser are provided and handed back at the end. Candidates may write on nothing else. Ear plugs are provided. Candidates may not use their own.
• Water. No food in the room. Water is allowed in a transparent bottle with the label removed. Food, medicine or medical equipment needed during the exam requires an accommodation request.

Pack the night before: the ID that matches your online profile, your registration details, a transparent water bottle with the label peeled off and clothing without a hood, scarf or heavy layers. If your name on the ID differs from your profile, fix it before the exam, since NDEB asks for a name change form submitted to its office by mail or courier.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026, NDEB FAQ.

What stays outside the room

• All devices that can record, transmit or receive are prohibited, including phones, tablets, laptops and wearable technology. They are switched off and stored in a designated area and cannot be reached during the break.
• All watches are prohibited and stored in the designated area. Practice your timing without a watch.
• No hat, scarf, coat, outdoor clothing, hoodie with the hood up or bulky clothing, except religious attire.
• All pockets must be empty on entering and leaving the exam room.
• A candidate cannot leave and re-enter the exam room unattended once the exam has started.

NDEB treats a breach of these rules as a prohibited action that may be investigated. Breaking exam rules can lead to cancelled registration, suspended eligibility, voided results, a zero or fail on questions, a ban from future exams and legal action. If you are unsure whether something is allowed, NDEB tells candidates to check the protocol and the terms in the NDEBConnect account, and then to ask it directly.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026, NDEB exam security.

Prometric and booklet rules

At Prometric, candidates may be scanned with a metal detector wand, fingerprinted, asked to raise pant legs above the ankles, empty and turn out pockets and raise shirt sleeves above the wrists. Candidates must read Prometric's test center policies before the exam. They can change at any time, and a candidate who does not comply may be refused entry. A candidate registered at a Prometric test center must watch NDEB's AFK and ACJ Electronic Exam Orientation before the exam.

On a booklet exam, candidates may not leave the room when 10 minutes remain, must stop writing when the invigilator calls time and must finish moving answers from the booklet to the answer sheet within the session time. That last rule is a trap for anyone who plans to transfer answers at the end. Transfer as you go or in blocks.

NDEB adds that it may introduce new regulations or change existing ones for a specific exam administration, and that those supersede the protocol. Read your location memo before the day.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026, NDEB Equivalency Process dates and locations.

Accommodations

A candidate may request an accommodation for a documented disability, a medical diagnosis or a religious reason. An accommodation cannot change the competencies assessed or fundamentally alter the exam. Examples NDEB lists: a private or semi-private room, up to time and a half, extra scheduled breaks during which exam time stops, front-row seating and written instructions for hearing impairment, and rescheduling for religious holy days. NDEB notes that a private room is not available for the Clinical Skills Component of the NDECC.

• When to ask. For needs known at application, the request is submitted right after registering for the first exam. For a new or changing need, the request must reach NDEB no later than 8 weeks before the exam. A request that misses the deadline may be denied. For medication or medical equipment, NDEB asks for written notice within 15 business days of the exam, and it must approve the item before the exam.
• What to send. A completed Test Accommodation Request Form with documents for your category, through NDEBConnect. For a learning disability, NDEB asks for a report from a licensed clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist or psychiatrist, less than four years old and based on more than self-report, with suggested accommodations. For a diagnosed anxiety or other mental health condition, it asks for documentation from a licensed professional less than one year old that names the psychological test used. NDEB also lists documents for ADHD, physical conditions and religious reasons.
• What is not accepted. NDEB does not accept accommodation letters from other organizations, including universities, or outdated documentation. Ordinary exam anxiety does not lead to an accommodation. Anxiety must be a diagnosed disorder.
• The outcome. NDEB can grant the request, propose a different accommodation, ask for more information or deny it. If it grants one, it sends an accommodation plan, which you accept or reject. A rejected plan means sitting without it or withdrawing. NDEB decides the date, location and time of a sitting under a plan.
• Cost and validity. The candidate pays any extra expenses that an accommodation plan creates. An accommodation plan is valid for the registration it was made for. Each registration needs a new request.

The accommodation request deadline, eight weeks before the exam, falls before the registration deadline, which is about a month before it, so start the request early if you need one. NDEB does not state how long it takes to answer.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB test accommodations, NDEB examination and appeal policies, NDEB AFK Protocol 2026.

Official preparation material

NDEB tells candidates to start with its own material. It lists the protocol, the electronic exam orientation video, a list of reference texts, the knowledge, skills and abilities document and a released question bank, and says that none of it is identical to the exam. NDEB is not affiliated with and does not endorse third-party test preparation courses. No outside company has special access to NDEB or its process.

NDEB offers a self-assessment of 100 multiple-choice questions to help you gauge your ability to complete the AFK. It gives a tally of correct responses and does not guarantee a passing score. NDEB gives no recommended study time. It asks candidates to read the Protocol carefully in preparation and updates examination questions regularly. NDEB publishes a list of reference texts used in Canadian faculties of dentistry. It also references journal articles, clinical guidelines and practice standards from specialty organizations.

Our advice is to read the protocol first, watch the orientation video next, then take a timed baseline before you spend on anything else. The scoring page explains how to read your result and the pathway page shows what follows a pass.

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK page, NDEB exam resources, NDEB news, 28 July 2026, NDEB AFK Protocol 2026.

Questions candidates ask

Last checked 23 October 2026. Source: NDEB AFK Protocol 2026, NDEB test accommodations, NDEB FAQ.