QCHP Orthodontics Exam 2026: Blueprint, Fee & Steps

Medical exams / QCHP Qatar / QCHP Orthodontics exam guide

Specialist dentists who want to work in Qatar are licensed by the Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP), still widely called QCHP. Since Circular DHP/2024/19, holders of some specialty degrees must pass a specialty qualifying exam. This guide covers who sits the Orthodontics exam, its official blueprint, how to prepare and what happens after you pass.

Who sits the QCHP Orthodontics exam

DHP licenses specialist dentists according to their postgraduate degree, using its approved specialty qualifications list for dentists:

If your degree is on DHP's list but you have not yet completed the experience your category needs, DHP licenses you as a General Dentist, and you can apply for privileges in your specialty. An overseas dentist whose postgraduate degree is not on the list cannot be licensed as a specialist. Check your exact degree title and awarding body in the list before you apply.

Who is exempt from the QCHP Orthodontics exam

• Holders of Category 1 and 2 specialty qualifications.
• Qatari nationals, children of Qatari mothers, and graduates of public or private universities and higher education institutions in Qatar (Circular DHP/2025/24).

See our guide to DHP Qatar exam exemption criteria for the rules in other professions.

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
• Specialty degree or board certificate, with residency or training certificates
• 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 QCHP Orthodontics blueprint

DHP's specialty dentist blueprint gives the share of the 150 questions for each area of orthodontics:

Every dental specialty exam also includes patient safety and professionalism and ethics, each worth 5%. Pass marks for every profession are in our article on the DHP Qatar exam passing score and duration.

A 10-week study plan for the QCHP Orthodontics exam

DHP reference books for the Orthodontics exam

These titles come from DHP's own reference list for the exam. Use the latest edition of each:

• Contemporary Orthodontics (Proffit, Fields, Larson and Sarver)
• Orthodontics: Current Principles and Techniques (Graber, Vanarsdall and Vig)
• Radiographic Cephalometry (Jacobson)
• Esthetics and Biomechanics in Orthodontics (Nanda)
• Understanding Patient Safety (Wachter)
• Professionalism and Ethics Handbook for Residents, and Essentials of Patient Safety

Sample QCHP Orthodontics exam MCQs

These five questions come from the free trial of our QCHP Orthodontics QBank, covering different parts of orthodontics. Tap a question to see the answer and explanation.

An orthodontist is reviewing the evidence on circumferential supracrestal fiberotomy before using it routinely. She reads the 15-year prospective study by Edwards that compared patients who had fiberotomy with those who did not. Which finding of that study is correct?A. Fiberotomy was more effective at reducing rotational relapse than labiolingual relapse, and more effective in the maxillary than the mandibular anterior segmentB. Fiberotomy eliminated relapse completely, so retainers could be stopped at debondC. Fiberotomy reduced relapse equally in all directions and in both archesD. Fiberotomy caused significant gingival recession and loss of attachment

Answer: A. Fiberotomy was more effective at reducing rotational relapse than labiolingual relapse, and more effective in the maxillary than the mandibular anterior segment
Explanation: Edwards followed fiberotomy and control patients for about 15 years after treatment. CSF reduced relapse, but the benefit was greater for rotational relapse than for labiolingual relapse, and greater in the maxillary than the mandibular anterior segment. This fits the mechanism: CSF cuts the stretched supracrestal fibres that pull rotated teeth back, but it does not change lip and tongue pressure or the maturational changes that drive lower incisor crowding.

During a craniofacial growth tutorial, a resident is asked about postnatal growth of the cranial vault. At birth the flat bones of the vault are separated by sutures and fontanelles, which allow moulding during delivery and rapid expansion with the brain. In a healthy child, by what age is the anterior fontanelle normally closed?A. 18 to 24 monthsB. 2 to 3 monthsC. 6 to 7 yearsD. Around puberty

Answer: A. 18 to 24 months
Explanation: The anterior fontanelle, at the junction of the coronal, sagittal and metopic (frontal) sutures, is the largest and normally closes at about 18 to 24 months. The posterior fontanelle closes earlier, at about 2 to 3 months. The cranial vault is formed by intramembranous bone.

A 14-year-old girl is about to start fixed appliance treatment with extraction of four first premolars for 9 mm of lower incisor crowding. Her father asks whether the extractions will keep the lower front teeth straight in the long term without a retainer, as he was told the crowding is 'caused by too little space'. What is the most accurate advice?A. Extraction cases stay aligned in the long term, so short-term retention for 6 months is enoughB. Long-term studies show that lower incisor crowding often returns after retention ends, even after extractions, so long-term retention is neededC. Relapse is mainly caused by third molars, which should be removed after treatmentD. Relapse is rare if the lower intercanine width is increased during treatment

Answer: B. Long-term studies show that lower incisor crowding often returns after retention ends, even after extractions, so long-term retention is needed
Explanation: The classic University of Washington studies by Little and co-workers followed premolar extraction cases 10 years and more after retention. About two-thirds had unsatisfactory lower incisor alignment, and the outcome could not be predicted from pretreatment or treatment variables. Crowding continued to worsen 20 years after retention.

In a split-mouth study at a university orthodontic department, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) is collected from the distal (pressure) side of upper canines 24 hours after starting canine retraction with a 150 g nickel-titanium closed coil spring. The contralateral canines serve as controls. Which change in the GCF of the retracted canines is most expected?A. Decreased RANKL and increased osteoprotegerin (OPG)B. Decreased RANKL and decreased OPGC. Increased RANKL and decreased OPGD. Unchanged RANKL and increased OPG

Answer: C. Increased RANKL and decreased OPG
Explanation: Bone resorption is controlled by the RANK/RANKL/OPG system. RANKL, expressed by PDL fibroblasts, osteoblasts and osteocytes, binds RANK on osteoclast precursors and drives their fusion, activation and survival. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a soluble decoy receptor that binds RANKL and blocks this.

An infant with a complete bilateral cleft lip and palate is assessed by the cleft team. On examining the family, the mother has two small symmetrical depressions on the vermilion of her lower lip, which have always produced a little saliva. She has no cleft. The mother's sister had a repaired isolated cleft palate. Which diagnosis best explains the family history?A. Van der Woude syndromeB. Stickler syndromeC. 22q11.2 deletion syndromeD. Non-syndromic multifactorial clefting

Answer: A. Van der Woude syndrome
Explanation: Van der Woude syndrome is the most common syndromic cause of clefts (about 2% of CL±P). The hallmark is bilateral paramedian pits of the lower lip, sometimes draining saliva from minor salivary glands. It is autosomal dominant, mostly caused by IRF6 mutations, with high penetrance but variable expression: a carrier may have only lip pits (this mother), and both CL±P and isolated CP can occur in the same family, which is unusual for non-syndromic clefts.

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 98 correct answers you need.

Results and attempts

Prometric gives you your result at the centre when you finish. DHP applies the 65% 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 specialist dentists three 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 Orthodontics 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 Orthodontics exam and the SLE Orthodontics exam.

Frequently asked questions