Hi Everyone
Thought I'd write and offer some help with the exams as I have sat and passed Part I and Part II last year, but failed a section of Part III, which I am sitting this year.
Part I: All multiple choice questions, but very factual and quite random I'm afraid. The Dental Public Health part is all about HK facts (fluoride levels in water, DMFT in HK)etc. Most people fail this stage, but just learn as many facts as possible and answer every question!
Part II: practical exams are not that bad, just made sure you practice to do the perfect prep/cavity on PLASTIC teeth. In the Perio part of the exam, they are looking more for posture and correct holding of hand instruments (ie: finger rest) rather than actually getting all the calculus off the teeth. To my knowledge and speaking to others, never has anyone had to make an ortho appliance. Last year, had to survey and design partial denture, cut a cavity on deciduous tooth, scale calculus, raise flaps for removal impacted wisdom, impacted canine and apicectomy, prep lateral incisor for crown.
Part III: composed of 3 parts.
1: seeing a real patient and carrying out H&E in order to get a treatment plan and diagnosis
2: Maxfac and Oral Surg: will be shown radiographs/pics/etc and asked for diagnosis and treatment
3: Paeds and Ortho: Is comprised of 15 pictures that make up an OSCE. This is the one I failed as if you read the candidates guidelines, there is no mention of an OSCE: so make sure you know how to recognise childhood diseases, syndromes, trauma, ortho, appliances, cysts, etc etc!! This exam is only 30mins long and yes..if you fail, you will only need to re-sit this part, but you will still have to pay the full exam fee!
Hope this helps. Good luck