Clinical Dental Sciences: Restorative, Endodontics, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral Surgery, Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry
What you must know
Restorative: caries risk assessment, minimally invasive cavity design, moisture control and material selection. Endodontics: diagnosis, working length 0.5–1 mm short of the radiographic apex, rubber dam, sodium hypochlorite as tissue solvent, and obturation of a shaped canal. Periodontics: the 2017 World Workshop classification - staging from severity (interdental clinical attachment loss, radiographic bone loss, teeth lost to periodontitis) and grading from progression rate and risk. Prosthodontics: centric relation, occlusal vertical dimension, impression material properties and removable partial denture design. Oral surgery: forceps and elevators, third molar assessment, dry socket, nerve injury and MRONJ risk. Orthodontics: anchorage, IOTN, and timing of interception versus definitive treatment. Paediatric dentistry: pulpotomy and stainless steel crowns in primary molars, fluoride varnish, and behaviour guidance.
Traps
Staging questions deliberately offer probing depth as the deciding variable - it is not; interdental CAL is. The terms “chronic” and “aggressive” periodontitis are retired. Endodontic distractors suggest obturating beyond the apex, or skipping rubber dam. Paediatric items test whether you preserve a primary molar that is still needed for space rather than extracting reflexively.
Worked example: staging periodontitis
A patient has 6 mm interdental CAL at the worst site, radiographic bone loss to the middle third, and two teeth lost to periodontitis. That combination places the patient at Stage III: CAL ≥5 mm, bone loss extending to the middle or apical third, and four or fewer teeth lost. Grade is then assigned separately from progression and risk (smoking, glycaemic control). Remember the two axes are independent - severity never sets the grade.