Canada · Licensing examNDEB’s own material and a paid course compared
| Option | Price | Free to use | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official | |||
NDEB Released Test Item BankOfficial released questions (PDF)Retired and active NDEB questions in English and French, first made available in 2009. NDEB says the mix doesn’t match the AFK blueprint and some items are outdated. No answers are published with it. | No fee listed | Download from NDEB’s Exam Resources page, for personal use only | |
NDEB Online Self-AssessmentOfficial web-based self-assessment for the AFK100 multiple-choice questions in 120 minutes, one answer each and no going back. At the end you get a tally of correct answers. NDEB says the score is a guideline only and doesn’t predict your AFK result. | No fee listed | Runs on NDEB’s website | |
NDEB ACJ Sample Questions and AnswersOfficial sample questions for the ACJ (PDF)Examples of the question formats used in the Assessment of Clinical Judgement, updated October 2024. NDEB strongly encourages you to look at it before the ACJ. A separate PDF shows how multi-answer questions are scored. | No fee listed | Download from NDEB’s Exam Resources page | |
NDEB Virtual OSCE FrameworksOfficial case-question formats for the Virtual OSCE (PDF)Examples of the case-based question formats used on the Virtual OSCE, each with its list of answer options, revised January 29, 2026. NDEB says they don’t show how many questions of each kind you’ll get, and not every framework appears on every exam. | No fee listed | Download from NDEB’s Exam Resources page | |
NDEB NDECC preparation documentsOfficial guides for the NDECCThe NDECC Practical Guide (effective July 30, 2026) on the Test Centre, instruments and materials; a situational judgement station sample with its grading scheme (revised October 2023); a reference list (updated March 2026); and Tips for the NDECC (updated October 2025). | No fee listed | Download from NDEB’s Exam Resources page | |
| Prep courses | |||
Prep DoctorsCourses for each NDEB exam, online and in personPrep Doctors lists $3,650 CAD for its online ACJ course and $6,500 online or $9,000 on site for NDECC clinical skills, and its AFK and ADAT bundle page prices the online AFK course at $5,500. Tax is added where it applies. NDEB isn’t affiliated with Prep Doctors or any other course provider. | From $3,200 CAD (Virtual OSCE course), plus tax | No free course listed | |
Prices and ratings checked October 2026.
What’s in the NDEB released question bank?
NDEB first made its Released Test Item Bank available in 2009. It mixes retired and active questions, in English and French, and you download it as a PDF from NDEB’s Exam Resources page.
Treat it as practice material, not a mock exam. NDEB says the mix of topics doesn’t follow the AFK blueprint, some questions have been dropped for outdated science or errors, and some question formats aren’t used any more.
NDEB doesn’t publish answers with the bank, and it forbids anyone adding answers, suggested answers or commentary to the released questions, or selling them. So a book or website that sells NDEB released questions with answers is doing something NDEB prohibits.
What NDEB says about prep courses
NDEB isn’t affiliated with any company that sells courses for its exams and doesn’t endorse any. It also says these courses can be very costly and aren’t required.
If you do take a course, NDEB’s rules still apply to you. Sharing, reconstructing or asking for exam content is prohibited, including from memory, and so is using NDEB content for commercial purposes, its released material included. NDEB says it investigates conduct like this, and that the consequences can be significant.
A study path using NDEB’s own material
- Read the protocol for your exam first. The AFK, ACJ and Virtual OSCE protocols each give a blueprint, so you know how much of the exam each subject is worth.
- Look through NDEB’s Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) for a beginning dental practitioner in Canada. NDEB writes its questions from them.
- Pick your textbooks from NDEB’s Reference Texts list, which names books used in Canadian faculties of dentistry. It was updated on June 18, 2026.
- Work through the released questions topic by topic, checking your answers against those textbooks.
- Near the end, try the format of your exam: the AFK self-assessment, the ACJ sample questions or the Virtual OSCE Frameworks, plus the orientation video for computer-based exams.
Each exam’s page in this guide has its blueprint table.
Sources: NDEB and 5 more. Checked October 2026.
- NDEB: Exam Resources ↗
- NDEB: Released Test Item Bank (PDF) ↗
- NDEB: Online Self-Assessment ↗
- NDEB: Are You Considering Canada? ↗
- NDEB: 2026 AFK Protocol, effective January 19, 2026 (PDF) ↗
- NDEB: Exam Security ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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