ADC Written Exam Syllabus & Blueprint
The single most useful thing you can do before you start studying is understand how the ADC Written Examination is weighted. The exam is not spread evenly across topics — it is mapped to the ADC competency blueprint, and a handful of domains carry far more marks than the rest. Study to the blueprint and every hour counts for more.
The 5 ADC competency domains
At the highest level, the exam is organised into five competency domains. The two diagnostic domains dominate — together they account for the majority of the paper — which is why strong history-taking, examination, investigation and management-planning reasoning is the highest-leverage thing to master.
The 13 clinical disciplines
Beneath the domains, content is distributed across thirteen clinical disciplines. Restorative dentistry, the prosthodontics pair, paediatric dentistry & orthodontics and preventive dentistry carry the largest discipline shares.
How to use the blueprint
- Allocate study time in proportion to the weighting — not evenly across topics.
- Prioritise the diagnostic domains and the highest-weight disciplines early.
- Track your accuracy per discipline so you can see where the marks are leaking.
- Re-test weak disciplines on a schedule until they reach your target accuracy.
Frequently asked questions
How many topics are on the ADC Written Exam?
Content is mapped to five ADC competency domains and thirteen clinical disciplines, with each weighted according to the ADC blueprint.
Which ADC domains carry the most marks?
The two diagnostic domains — clinical information gathering and diagnosis & management planning — carry the largest share of marks, followed by clinical treatment and evaluation.
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