Licence in Dental Surgery Part 3
Exam overview
The Part 3 exam of the LDS will be held over a one day period and consist of one section:
- an 180-minute operative assessment on a dental manikin, designed to test your practical clinical dental skills.
We are expanding the number of places available for candidates to sit the LDS exam. Read our update for more information.
- £1,525.00
Eligibility
Education and training requirements
An overview of LDS Part 3 candidate eligibility is provided below. Please read the LDS exam regulations for a more detailed breakdown.
To be eligible to enter the LDS Part 3 exam all candidates must have passed LDS Part 1 and Part 2 within the last 5 years.
Upon passing LDS Part 3, candidates will be required to sign a health declaration (found in the exam regulations) and pay a £230 completion fee in order to register with the General Dental Council.
If a candidate is unable to sign the declaration they must provide, within three months of completing the LDS Part 3 exam, original Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV certificates which are no more than three months old and have been authenticated from an accredited UK laboratory.
All documentation should be scanned and emailed to DentalEligibility@rcseng.ac.uk. Postal copies will not be accepted.
Please note the LDS is undergoing a structure change and the regulations will be updated to reflect this. The new regulations will take effect from May 2026 onwards.
Reasonable adjustments
We have a new email inbox for reasonable adjustments: ra_exams@rcseng.ac.uk. Please send all documentation and queries related to reasonable adjustments here. We will no longer be monitoring reasonable adjustment requests from the dental exams inbox.
To apply for reasonable adjustments, candidates must submit a clinical assessment report which includes a recommendation of the adjustments they require in the exam.
If you are resitting an exam or sitting an exam after having reasonable adjustments applied for a previous part, you must inform us if you would like reasonable adjustments to be applied again.
Withdrawal and refund policy
If you wish to withdraw from the exam, you may or may not be entitled to a full or partial refund according to the guidelines outlined in our refund policy.
Please familiarise yourself with this policy before applying for an exam seat to ensure a smooth and easy withdrawal process.
Format of exam
The Part 3 exam of the Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) will be held over a one day period and consist of one section:
- an 180-minute operative assessment on a dental manikin, designed to test your practical clinical dental skills.
Please note that for exams being delivered from May 2026 onwards, the following changes will come into play:
- The LDS will assess the learning outcomes set out in the Safe Practitioner Framework.
- The Unseen Case component in LDS Part 2 will be replaced by a 6-case Structured Clinical Reasoning examination.
For full information on the changes to the LDS exam, please ensure you have read LDS Structure Change 2026.
You can also read the LDS exam regulations and the LDS candidate guidance.
Syllabus
Below is an outline of the major competencies/learning outcomes that may be assessed. These represent broad categories of professional activity and concerns that occur in the general practice of dentistry and are interdisciplinary in orientation and must embrace an element of critical thinking.
They may apply in differing ways to patients of all ages, including children, adolescents, adults and the elderly.
Professionalism
a) Professional attitude and behaviour
b) Ethics and jurisprudence
Interpersonal, communication and social skills
a) Communication
Knowledge base, information and information literacy
a) Application of basic biological, medical, technical and clinical sciences
b) Acquiring and using information
Clinical information gathering
a) Obtaining and recording a comprehensive history of the patient’s medical, oral and dental state
Diagnosis and treatment planning
a) Decision-making, clinical reasoning and judgment
b) Education of patients and management of comprehensive primary care
c) Oral medicine management
d) Periodontal management
e) Caries and endodontic management
f) Surgical procedures
g) Pain and anxiety management
h) Restorative/prosthodontics management
i) Orthodontic management
j) Emergency treatment
Health promotion
a) Improving the oral health of individuals, families and groups in the community
These major competencies are underpinned by sub-sets of more detailed supporting skills, understanding and professional values. The detail, along with associated assessment methods are set out in the Learning Outcomes and Examination Syllabus document.
Upcoming exam dates
LDS Part 3 June 2026
Applications open: 7 April 2026 | Exam date: 27 June 2025 | Exam fee: £1525
LDS Part 3 October 2026
Applications open: 20 July 2026 | Exam date: 17 October 2025 | Exam fee: £1525
Results are scheduled to be released 5-6 weeks after the exam date. Dates and fees may be subject to change. Please check back regularly for updates.
LDS completion
Upon completion of the LDS with RCS England, candidates are required to sign a health declaration and pay a £230 completion fee which will be collected once you have passed the exam.
Regulations and Guidance
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LDS Candidate OverviewPDF
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LDS Part 3 Candidate GuidancePDF
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LDS Exam RegulationsPDF
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LDS Structure Change 2022PDF
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LDS Learning OutcomesPDF
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LDS Suggested ReadingPDF
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Reasonable Adjustment PolicyPDF
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Candidate Code of ConductPDF
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Mitigating Circumstances PolicyPDF
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Suspected Candidate Misconduct ProcedurePDF
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Appeal RegulationsPDF