One of the most common questions we get from internationally trained dentists is some version of this: “Which books should I use for the AFK?”
It is a fair question, but it skips a step. Before deciding on AFK study materials, you need to know what the exam actually weighs most. Once you see the breakdown, it becomes much easier to decide where your time and money should go.
This post maps the AFK content areas to the type of material that works best for each, so your AFK exam prep is aimed at the right targets.
The National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) publishes the AFK content areas and their approximate weights. Under the current protocol, the AFK has 200 single-answer multiple-choice questions, split into two parts of two hours each and delivered on one day. The approximate weights look like this:
Each weight has a range of plus or minus five percent, so treat these as a guide rather than an exact count. Still, the message is clear. Four areas make up roughly two-thirds of the exam. Your study materials should reflect that. For a full overview of the exam, see our AFK exam page.
This is the biggest single slice. You want concise review notes that connect anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pathology and biochemistry to dental practice. Heavy textbooks are useful for looking up specific gaps, but they are slow as a main resource. Pair your notes with a large bank of practice questions.
Here, clinical reasoning matters as much as facts. Look for materials that cover material properties, preparation principles, occlusion and treatment planning. Case-style questions help a lot because they force you to choose between options the way the exam does.
This area is very visual. Images, radiographs and comparison tables of lesions are more useful than long text. Build a personal atlas: one page per lesion type with key features, typical location and the main differential.
At around 14%, this area deserves real attention, and it is one where many candidates lose easy marks. Drug tables, dosing principles for local anaesthetics and step-by-step emergency protocols are the core materials here. We wrote a separate post on how to prepare this area in depth.
Orthodontics and paediatrics, periodontics, oral surgery, endodontics and the evidence-based dentistry group together still make up about a third of the exam. Do not skip them. Concise summaries plus targeted question sets are usually enough, as long as you review consistently.
If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: practice questions are not an extra. They are the main event.
Reading builds familiarity. Questions build recall and judgment. And because the AFK uses single-answer multiple-choice items where you choose the most likely or most appropriate answer, you need lots of practice telling a good option from the best one.
Good question banks have clear explanations, cover all content areas in roughly the right proportions and include a mix of straightforward and tricky items. Our smart quizzes are designed with the AFK blueprint in mind, so your practice lines up with what the exam actually emphasises.
A messy pile of PDFs and books will slow you down. Try this:
That last point is the key. A weak area worth 15% of the exam is more urgent than a weak area worth 6%.
Some candidates prepare well with materials alone. Others find that without guidance, they spend too long on topics that do not move the score. A structured AFK prep course helps by deciding what to cover, in what order and how deeply.
At DentaBest, our AFK program combines curated notes, question practice and tutor support. If you prefer to work at your own pace, the self-study package gives you organised materials and quizzes without fixed class times. The Fusion Program sits in between, mixing self-paced work with tutor check-ins.
Rarely. Most candidates do best with concise review notes for each content area, a few reference books for looking up gaps and a large bank of practice questions.
Yes. Each one may be small on its own, but together they make up roughly a third of the exam. Light, regular review is usually enough to keep them solid.
The best AFK study materials are the ones that match the exam’s priorities and that you actually use consistently. Start from the content weights, choose concise resources for each area and make practice questions the centre of your plan.
If you are not sure your current materials cover what you need, book a free orientation. We will look at what you have, what you are missing and how to build a realistic plan around your exam date.
