QCHP General Dentist Exam 2026: Blueprint, Fee & Steps

Medical exams / QCHP Qatar / QCHP General Dentist exam guide

Dentists who want to work in Qatar are licensed by the Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP), still widely known by its old name, QCHP. For general dentists that means passing the National General Dental Qualifying Examination unless you are exempt. This guide explains who can sit it, the official blueprint, how to prepare and what happens after you pass.

Who can sit the QCHP General Dentist exam

DHP's Guidelines for Dentists set the rules for the General Dentist title. If you qualified outside Qatar, you need:

• A dental degree (BDS, DDS or equivalent) from an institution DHP recognises.
• Clinical experience as a general dentist after graduation, two years in most cases.
• A valid licence for the years you worked and a certificate of good standing, both checked at the source by your verification provider.
• No long break from practice, under DHP's break in practice policy.

Qatari nationals, children of Qatari mothers, graduates of universities in Qatar and the families of residents follow shorter experience rules under Circular DHP/2025/24, and some can work as General Dentist (Supervised) while they build experience.

Who is exempt from the QCHP General Dentist exam

• Qatari nationals, children of Qatari mothers, and graduates of public or private universities and higher education institutions in Qatar.
• Holders of an international dental licensing exam on DHP's accepted list in Circular DHP/2025/19. The result must be valid and verified by your verification provider; since 1 January 2026 no exemption is accepted without that report.

Exemption replaces only the exam. You still need verification, experience and a DHP evaluation. See our guide to DHP Qatar exam exemption criteria.

How to apply, step by step

Documents to prepare

Your verification provider and DHP's evaluation team work from the same set of papers. Have clear scans of these ready:

• Dental degree and transcripts
• Internship or house job certificate, if your country requires one
• Experience certificates with dates and job titles
• Licences covering those years
• Certificate of good standing from your licensing authority
• Passport, a recent photograph and a CV on DHP's template

Most delays come from experience letters without exact dates, or licences that do not cover the whole period, so check these first.

Official NGDQE blueprint

DHP publishes the exact number of questions for each area. The 150 questions fall into three groups: Scientific Knowledge (35), Clinical Skills (100) and Affective Skills (15). The clinical areas carry most of the marks:

The 15 Affective Skills questions cover communication (6), professionalism (4), ethics and law (3) and teamwork and leadership (2). Evidence-based practice adds 5 questions to the scientific group. Pass marks for every profession are in our article on the DHP Qatar exam passing score and duration.

An 8-week study plan for the QCHP General Dentist exam

DHP reference books for the General Dentist exam

DHP's reference list for the 2025 exam includes these titles. Use one per subject and a question bank rather than reading them all:

Sample QCHP General Dentist exam MCQs

These five questions come from the free trial of our QCHP General Dentist QBank, across several parts of the blueprint. Tap a question to see the answer and explanation.

A 35-year-old woman has a deep carious lesion in tooth 47 with a vital pulp and reversible pulpitis. The dentist is choosing between stepwise excavation (two visits) and one-step selective caries removal to soft dentine. Compared with one-step selective removal, what is the main drawback of stepwise excavation?A. More bacteria remain under the final restorationB. Greater need for a calcium hydroxide liner at both visitsC. Pulp exposure risk at re-entry and patient drop-outD. Weaker bond of the final restoration to dentine

Answer: C. Pulp exposure risk at re-entry and patient drop-out
Explanation: In stepwise excavation, soft dentine is left over the pulp, the tooth is sealed with a provisional restoration, and after 6 to 12 months the tooth is re-entered to remove the now drier, harder dentine before the final restoration. Trials (Bjørndal 2010; Maltz 2018) show that re-entry itself can expose the pulp, and many patients do not return for the second step, leaving a provisional restoration that fails. One-step selective removal to soft dentine under a durable sealed restoration gave equal or better pulp survival.

A 62-year-old woman attends a general dental practice 3 weeks after receiving a cobalt-chromium partial denture. She says she pulled the denture out by the clasp on tooth 35 and it no longer grips the tooth. The clasp arm is intact but is now bent away from the tooth and stays in its new position. Which mechanical property of the alloy was exceeded?A. Ultimate tensile strengthB. Elastic limitC. Elastic modulusD. Fracture toughness

Answer: B. Elastic limit
Explanation: On a stress-strain curve, stress and strain are proportional up to the proportional limit; up to the elastic limit (practically the same point) the material returns to its original shape when the load is removed. Beyond it, plastic (permanent) deformation occurs. Because the clasp is bent but not broken, the stress passed the elastic limit (often reported as the 0.2% offset yield strength) but not the ultimate strength.

During root canal treatment of tooth 15, two separate canal orifices (buccal and palatal) are found. Both canals are negotiated, and a radiograph with two files in place shows the files meeting about 2 mm short of the apex and leaving the root through a single foramen. According to the Vertucci classification, which canal type is this?A. Type IIB. Type IVC. Type IIID. Type V

Answer: A. Type II
Explanation: Vertucci type II (2-1): two separate canals leave the pulp chamber and join short of the apex to form one canal and one foramen. This is common in maxillary second premolars and in the MB root of maxillary molars. Clinically, when two files meet, one canal is prepared to full working length and the other is prepared only to the junction, to avoid creating a ledge or zip.

A 63-year-old man is to have a large, lobulated torus palatinus removed before a new upper complete denture is made. It occupies most of the hard palate and prevents posterior palatal seal and denture seating. He takes amlodipine for hypertension (BP 132/80 mmHg). An oral surgeon is planning the flap. Which incision design is most appropriate?A. Horizontal incision across the palate at the junction of the hard and soft palateB. Two parallel incisions along the lateral margins of the torusC. Circular excision of the mucosa over the torusD. Midline incision over the torus with oblique releasing incisions at each end

Answer: D. Midline incision over the torus with oblique releasing incisions at each end
Explanation: A torus palatinus is removed through a midline linear incision over the torus with oblique releasing incisions at one or both ends, giving a double-Y design. Full-thickness flaps are reflected laterally. The midline is used because the main blood and nerve supply of the palatal mucosa (the greater palatine vessels and nerves) runs forward from the greater palatine foramina on each side, so lateral incisions risk bleeding and loss of flap blood supply.

An 11-year-old boy has a Class II division 1 malocclusion on a mild Class II skeletal base with an overjet of 10 mm and competent lips only with strain. He is referred to an orthodontist, who plans a Twin Block functional appliance. His father asks the general dentist what the appliance will mainly do. What is the most accurate answer?A. Mostly dental change, small jaw growth effectB. Large permanent increase in mandibular lengthC. Restraint of maxillary growth with no dental changeD. Distal bodily movement of the whole upper arch

Answer: A. Mostly dental change, small jaw growth effect
Explanation: Functional appliances such as the Twin Block hold the mandible forward and use the forces of the muscles and soft tissues. Overjet reduction comes mainly from dentoalveolar change: retroclination of the upper incisors, proclination of the lower incisors, some distal movement of upper molars, plus a small, variable increase in mandibular growth and some restraint of maxillary forward growth. Trials (e.g. the UK multicentre trials summarised in Cochrane reviews) show that early treatment reduces overjet and incisal trauma, but the long-term skeletal gain is small.

Exam fee and rescheduling

Under Circular DHP/2024/10, the Prometric fee for every Qatar qualifying exam is USD 244 per attempt from 1 January 2026 (it was USD 238 in 2024 and 2025). Verification and DHP evaluation fees are paid separately. Changing or cancelling a booking costs:

On exam day

• Bring the identity document you used to book; the name must match your Prometric appointment.
• Phones, watches and notes go in a locker. Prometric gives you everything you need at the desk.
• DHP and Prometric list 3 hours for the 150 questions, while DHP's blueprint document says 3.5 hours, so check the time on your booking confirmation and plan on about 70 seconds per question.
• Flag hard questions and come back to them; every question counts towards the 90 correct answers you need.

Results and attempts

Prometric gives you your result at the centre when you finish. DHP applies the 60% cut score exactly as published, without rounding.

DHP's qualifying exam page currently states that applicants may attempt the exam an unlimited number of times. Earlier DHP rules allowed five consecutive attempts, so check the page on the day you book in case the rule changes again.

Getting your licence

Passing the exam makes you eligible, but you can practise only after DHP approves your evaluation and a licensed healthcare facility in Qatar employs you and completes your licence. Keep your verification report and good standing certificate current while you look for a job.

Qatar and other Gulf dental exams

Each authority licenses separately, and a pass in one does not replace Qatar's exam. The clinical content overlaps, so your preparation carries over. See our guides to the DHA General Dentist exam and the SLE General Dentist exam.

Frequently asked questions