Dentists sit OET Dentistry. Listening and Reading are the same for every profession, while the Writing letter and the two Speaking role-plays use dental scenarios. This page sets out the English rules of the dental regulators in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, and how to prepare with the Modified Allied Health course from Dr Hesham, which covers Dentistry.
It is for dentists who need OET for registration abroad and want one structured route through all four sub-tests, with personal feedback on the two that are written for dentists.
The Dental Board of Australia applies the same accepted English tests and minimum scores as the other National Boards, and OET is one of them. The Australia pathway guide explains where the English test fits in the registration steps.
The Dental Council of Ireland asks for at least B in each OET Dentistry sub-test, and the Dental Council of New Zealand asks for A or B in each, in one sitting. One weak sub-test means another full test, so targeted feedback matters.
Read the GDC's English language page before you book anything: it names IELTS, not OET. Our OET vs IELTS and OET vs PTE guides compare the tests if you are still deciding.
OET has four sub-tests. OET says Listening and Reading are common to all candidates, while Writing and Speaking are profession specific and reflect workplace scenarios from your own profession.
| Sub-test | Time | What dentists do | Dental content? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | About 40 minutes, 42 questions | Three parts on topics of general healthcare interest; Part A is note completion from consultations, using the words you hear | No, the same for every profession |
| Reading | 60 minutes, 42 questions | Three parts; Part A is a 15-minute task across four short texts, collected before you start Parts B and C | No, the same for every profession |
| Writing | 45 minutes: 5 minutes reading time, then 40 minutes writing | One letter from dental case notes, such as a referral, advice, transfer or discharge letter, with a guide of 180–200 words | Yes |
| Speaking | About 20 minutes | Two role-plays with an interlocutor playing a patient or a patient's relative or carer; three minutes to prepare each card | Yes |
OET Dentistry can be taken on paper or on computer at a venue. OET@Home also exists, but Ahpra and the Dental Council of Ireland do not accept it, so check your regulator before you book. OET publishes a free Dentistry sample pack, including a Speaking role card; find it through our guide to official OET sample tests.
There is no single OET pass mark. Each dental regulator sets its own English rule, and they differ more than most candidates expect.
| Destination | Regulator | English rule for dentists | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Dental Board of Australia (Ahpra) | Any profession-specific OET, on paper or computer at a test centre. For tests taken on or after 23 April 2026: Listening 350, Reading 360, Writing 350, Speaking 360. Two sittings within 12 months are allowed if no score in either falls below 320, 340, 350 and 350. OET@Home is not accepted. IELTS Academic, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT and Cambridge English tests are also accepted. | Ahpra: accepted English tests |
| Ireland | Dental Council of Ireland | OET Dentistry with at least B in each of the four sub-tests, from a certificate no more than 2 years old when you apply. Paper-based and computer-based tests are accepted; OET@Home is not. The alternative test is Academic IELTS with 7.0 in each module. | Dental Council: language proficiency |
| New Zealand | Dental Council of New Zealand | OET with A or B grades in each of the four sub-tests, passed in one sitting. A pass is valid for two years, and one-skill retakes are not accepted. IELTS Academic, with at least 7 in each band, is the other approved test. | Dental Council (NZ): registration |
| United Kingdom | General Dental Council (GDC) | The GDC's English language page does not name OET. It names IELTS, including IELTS One Skill Retake and IELTS Online, and its guidance asks for Academic IELTS with 7 overall and at least 6.5 in each area. The guidance also accepts a recent pass in another English-speaking regulator's language test, backed by evidence from that regulator, but it does not name OET, and the GDC says it is reviewing this guidance. Ask the GDC before relying on OET. | GDC: English language controls |
| United States | State dental boards | We found no US dental licensing route that names OET. Check the requirements of your state dental board and of any programme you apply to. | No OET route found |
Other allied health regulators, including the HCPC, are covered on the OET for allied health page, and every regulator is compared in the OET score requirements guide.
Three Full OET Courses for Modified Allied Health. The price is the same for Paper-Based and Computer-Based candidates. Modified Allied Health covers Radiography, Optometry, Veterinary Science and every other profession outside Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy.
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A complete recorded OET course with 5 personal Writing letters by Dr Ahmed Hesham, 1 private Speaking session with an Expert Tutor and website practice (Writing, Speaking and, for Computer-Based candidates, Listening and Reading exams).
Everything in the Full OET Course, plus the 2026 TutorBook of Recalls with 10 full recall-based exams, model answers and permanent updates.
Everything in the Complete OET Bundle, plus unlimited eligible website practice, the Basic English Course as a free gift and SAMI 24/7 for 12 months.
Dentistry is covered by the Modified Allied Health course family, which includes every profession outside Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy. You book OET Dentistry for the exam; the course teaches the method for all four sub-tests.
The three courses shown above are the Full OET Course + Website Practice, the Complete OET Bundle + TutorBook (Recommended) and the Ultimate OET Course.
Package 03, £105, with 6 months of access. Recorded videos plus structured study materials.
Add more feedback to an active course on the sub-test that is holding you back.
The recorded course is not dentistry-only. Pair it with OET's free Dentistry sample pack, write your practice letters from dental case notes, and send those letters for correction. The OET for allied health page describes the course family in more detail.
You have 5 minutes to read the case notes and 40 minutes to write one letter, with a body of about 180–200 words. OET applies no automatic penalty for writing a little over or under, but a much longer letter usually means notes the reader did not need.
Refer a patient to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, a periodontist, an orthodontist or a paediatric dentist. Say what you found, what you have already done, and exactly what you want the specialist to do.
Write to a GP about a finding, or ask for information about a patient's medical history or medicines before treatment. Keep dental terms to what a medical reader uses, and make the question easy to answer.
OET's own Dentistry sample letter is written to a retirement village, asking for closer supervision of a resident's oral hygiene. Carers and parents need plain, practical instructions, not clinical shorthand.
Six criteria: Purpose, Content, Conciseness & Clarity, Genre & Style, Organisation & Layout, and Language. A clear purpose in the opening sentence and a specific request at the end protect marks across several of them.
This is an invented practice case written by OET with Dr Hesham to demonstrate the method. It is not an official OET task and does not describe a real patient.
You are the dentist at a general dental practice. Write a letter of referral to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department at the local hospital, requesting urgent assessment of a lesion on Mr K's tongue.
I am writing to refer Mr K, a 58-year-old man, for urgent assessment of a non-healing ulcer on the left lateral border of his tongue, which has persisted for three weeks despite removal of a possible source of trauma.
The first sentence tells the surgeon why the referral is urgent. Every kept note supports that urgency or helps the team plan safely; everything else, however true, stays in the notes.
The same keep-or-omit method is explained step by step in OET referral letter structure and the OET Writing tips. To see exactly which notes and sentences are costing you marks, send your letters for OET writing correction.
OET Speaking takes about 20 minutes and has two role-plays. You get three minutes to prepare each card, and a role-play usually ends at around five minutes. The interlocutor plays a patient or a patient's relative or carer; OET's free Dentistry sample role-play is set in a local dental clinic.
Two assessors score the recording on linguistic criteria (intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness of language, and resources of grammar and expression) and on clinical communication (relationship building, understanding and incorporating the patient's perspective, providing structure, information gathering and information giving). Plain explanations matter more than technical vocabulary: say "gum disease" before "periodontitis", then check the patient has understood.
Build the structure with the OET Speaking tips and empathy and signposting, practise the anxious-patient card with handling an angry or anxious patient, then rehearse dental cards aloud before your private session.
You sit exactly the same Listening and Reading papers as doctors and nurses, so dental knowledge does not help much here. Method does.
In Part A you complete notes from consultations using the words you hear, so spelling and prediction matter. Practise a little every day rather than one long session a week. See the OET Listening tips.
Part A is collected after 15 minutes, so train fast scanning across four short texts; Parts B and C reward careful reading and eliminating distractors. See the OET Reading tips.
Self-paced, but in a fixed order: confirm the target, diagnose, learn, get corrected, test yourself, then book.
Short answers before you enrol. More exam questions are answered on the full OET FAQ page.
The GDC's English language page does not name OET. It names IELTS, including IELTS One Skill Retake and IELTS Online, and its guidance asks for Academic IELTS with 7 overall and at least 6.5 in each area. Check the GDC page before you book any test for UK registration.
The Dental Board of Australia uses Ahpra's accepted test rules. For tests taken on or after 23 April 2026 the OET minimums are Listening 350, Reading 360, Writing 350 and Speaking 360, on paper or computer at a test centre. OET@Home is not accepted.
At least grade B in each of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking in OET Dentistry, with a certificate no more than 2 years old when you apply. The Council accepts paper-based and computer-based OET but not OET@Home.
Yes. The Dental Council of New Zealand has approved OET and IELTS Academic. Dentists need A or B grades in each of the four OET sub-tests, passed in one sitting, and a pass is valid for two years.
Dentistry is covered by the Modified Allied Health course family, which includes every profession outside Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy. Book OET Dentistry for the exam itself, and practise dental letters and role-plays alongside the course.
One letter from dental case notes in 40 minutes, after 5 minutes of reading time, with a body of about 180 to 200 words. It may be a referral to a specialist, a letter to a doctor or advice to carers. OET's own Dentistry sample letter is written to a retirement village about a resident's oral hygiene.
The test and regulator facts on this page were checked against these official pages on 2 November 2026.
Take the free placement test to see your level, compare the Modified Allied Health courses, and get your dental letters corrected before exam day.
