MDCG Dental Exam case studies

MDCG Dental Exam · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The MDCG Dental Exam is a licensing-style assessment for dentists seeking general registration or recognition with a medical/dental council. It is built for graduates of non-accredited or overseas dental programmes, and for candidates whose qualifications a regulator requires them to top up before independent practice. The MDCG Dental Exam case studies are 5 cases and about 4,968 words.

Failed mandibular block in an acutely inflamed molar, then a spreading swelling

A 34-year-old woman attends with severe spontaneous pain in the mandibular right first molar (tooth 46). The tooth is tender to percussion, carries a deep distal composite, and responds to cold with a lingering 40-second ache.

974 words, about 5 min 2

Biting pain on release in a heavily restored mandibular molar

A 52-year-old man complains of sharp pain in the lower left first molar (tooth 46) when eating, particularly at the moment he releases his bite. Episodes have occurred for four months and are brief; he cannot localise which tooth is responsible and has no spontaneous or night pain.

1,080 words, about 5 min 3

Staging and grading a smoker with diabetes and a furcation involvement

A 44-year-old man is referred for generalized gum bleeding and mobility of the upper right first molar (tooth 16). He smokes 15 cigarettes daily and has type 2 diabetes with a latest HbA1c of 7.8%; he takes metformin only.

988 words, about 5 min 4

Three extractions in a patient taking apixaban who is afraid of dentistry

A 68-year-old woman needs three teeth extracted: 36, which has a 6 mm periapical radiolucency and is tender to percussion; 37, a retained root; and 18, which is symptomless but has a deep distal carious lesion. She has atrial fibrillation and takes apixaban 5 mg twice daily, with her last dose two hours ago.

909 words, about 5 min 5

Pressure to upcode a claim and a request for records with an unpaid balance

You are three months into an associateship at a private practice where you are paid 35% of adjusted production against a quarterly target. On Friday the principal asks you to change the record of a 20-minute problem-focused examination you performed for a patient with a single sensitive tooth into a 'comprehensive examination with eight radiographs'.

1,017 words, about 5 min