Study Materials
ADC Exam Books & Study Materials — The Official Resource List, Explained
The ADC publishes an official resource list. It contains 40+ textbooks, guidelines, and journals across 16 subject areas. Here's every book on that list, organised by how much it actually matters for the written exam.
The one book that matters most
If you read nothing else, read the Therapeutic Guidelines — Oral and Dental. It is the single most tested resource in the ADC Written Exam. The current version on the ADC resource list is Version 3, published by Therapeutic Guidelines Limited and available at tg.org.au.
TG covers prescribing, antibiotic use, analgesic management, antibiotic prophylaxis, management of dental emergencies, and drug interactions. The ADC exam doesn't test what you would prescribe — it tests what the Therapeutic Guidelines recommends. Get this wrong and you lose marks regardless of how clinically experienced you are.
On Reviz, every question Remy asks cites the exact TG section. When you get an answer wrong, you see exactly which guideline applies and why your choice was incorrect — not a vague explanation, but the specific recommendation from the prescribed textbook.
The complete official ADC resource list
Below is every resource from the ADC's official examination resource list (last revised December 2023), grouped by subject and marked by how heavily each area is typically tested. These are the exact books the ADC examiners draw from.
Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Very high yield
Therapeutic Guidelines — Oral and Dental, Version 3 (2019)
Publisher: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. The definitive prescribing reference for the ADC exam. Covers antibiotics, analgesics, prophylaxis, prescribing in pregnancy, drug interactions, and emergency management. Read it cover to cover, then read it again.
Rang & Dale's Pharmacology, 10th edn (2023)
Authors: Rang HP, Ritter JM, Flower RD, Henderson G. Provides the pharmacological foundations — mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, drug classes. Use this to understand why TG recommends what it does, not as a standalone study resource.
Restorative Dentistry
Very high yield — ~12% of exam
Pickard's Guide to Minimally Invasive Operative Dentistry, 10th edn (2015)
Authors: Banerjee A, Watson TF. Core text for operative principles, caries management, and restoration techniques.
Sturdevant's Art & Science of Operative Dentistry, 7th edn (2018)
Authors: Ritter AV, Boushell LW, Walter W. More detailed than Pickard's on specific restorative techniques and material selection.
Preservation and Restoration of Tooth Structure, 3rd edn (2016)
Authors: Mount GJ, Hume WR, Ngo HC, Wolff MS. Covers the philosophy of minimal intervention dentistry.
Fixed Prosthodontics
Very high yield — part of 12% restorative allocation
Fundamentals of Fixed Prosthodontics (Shillingburg), 4th edn (2020)
Authors: Shillingburg HT et al. The classic text on crown and bridge. Preparation design, impression techniques, cementation, and occlusal principles.
Contemporary Fixed Prosthodontics, 6th edn (2022)
Authors: Rosenstiel SF, Land MF, Walter R. More modern approach, covers CAD/CAM and adhesive techniques alongside traditional methods.
Endodontics
High yield
Cohen's Pathways of the Pulp, 12th edn (2021)
Authors: Berman LH, Hargreaves KM. The gold standard endodontics reference. Pulp biology, diagnosis, treatment planning, and obturation.
Endodontics: Principles and Practice (Torabinejad), 6th edn (2020)
More concise than Cohen's. Good for rapid revision of endodontic principles.
AAE Vital Pulp Therapy Position Statement (2021)
Covers the shift toward vital pulp therapy and bioceramic materials. Increasingly tested in recent ADC exams.
Periodontics
High yield
Carranza's Clinical Periodontology, 13th edn (2018)
Authors: Newman MG, Takei HH, Klokkevold PR, Carranza FA. Comprehensive periodontology text covering the 2017 classification, assessment, non-surgical and surgical management.
Kornman & Papapanou — New Classification of Periodontal Diseases (2020)
The 2017/2018 classification is heavily tested. Know the staging and grading system for periodontitis.
Oral Pathology & Oral Medicine
High yield
Cawson's Essentials of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, 9th edn (2017)
Authors: Cawson RA, Odell EW. Covers mucosal lesions, bone pathology, salivary gland disorders, and oral manifestations of systemic disease. The clinical problem-solving approach mirrors the ADC's vignette format.
General Medicine & Medical Emergencies
High yield — ~9% of exam
Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine, 24th edn (2022)
Authors: Penman I, Ralston SH, Strachan MWJ, Hobson R. The medical reference for understanding systemic conditions that affect dental management — cardiovascular disease, diabetes, bleeding disorders, immunosuppression.
Little and Falace's Dental Management of the Medically Compromised Patient, 10th edn (2023)
Authors: Kerr AR, Miller CS, Treister NS. Specifically bridges medicine and dentistry — how to modify dental treatment for patients with medical conditions. Directly relevant to the clinical vignettes.
Removable Prosthodontics
Moderate yield
McCracken's Removable Partial Prosthodontics, 13th edn (2015)
Authors: Carr AB, Brown DT. Design principles, survey, and framework design for RPDs.
Prosthodontic Treatment for Edentulous Patients (Zarb), 13th edn (2012)
Complete denture principles. Older edition but still on the official list.
Cariology & Preventive Dentistry
Moderate yield
Dental Caries: The Disease and Its Clinical Management (Fejerskov), 3rd edn (2015)
Authors: Nyvad B, Kidd E, Fejerskov O. The science of caries, risk assessment, and evidence-based management.
ADA Evidence-Based Guideline on Restorative Treatments for Caries (2023)
Authors: Dhar V et al. Published in JADA. Covers when to intervene and when to monitor.
Prevention of Oral Disease (Murray), 4th edn (2003)
Older but still listed. Covers fluoride therapy, diet counselling, and population-level prevention.
Paediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics
Moderate yield
Handbook of Pediatric Dentistry (Cameron & Widmer), 5th edn (2021)
The Australian paediatric dentistry text. Covers behaviour management, trauma management in children, and pulp therapy in primary teeth.
Contemporary Orthodontics (Proffit), 6th edn (2018)
Classification of malocclusion, growth and development, and orthodontic treatment principles. You don't need the clinical techniques — focus on diagnosis and treatment planning.
Oral Surgery
Moderate yield
Manual of Minor Oral Surgery for the General Dentist (Mehra), 2nd edn (2015)
Covers extractions, third molar management, biopsy techniques, and post-operative complications.
Infection Prevention & Control
High yield
ADA Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control, 4th edn (2022)
The Australian standard. Sterilisation, disinfection, hand hygiene, PPE, and waste management. Non-negotiable content — getting infection control questions wrong is a red flag in the exam.
Hand Hygiene Australia (hha.org.au)
Online resource covering the 5 moments of hand hygiene. Simple but tested.
Radiology
Moderate yield
Atlas of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (Koong), 2017
Normal anatomy, pathology identification, and radiographic interpretation.
ARPANSA Code of Practice — Radiation Protection in Dentistry (2005)
Radiation safety principles, dose limits, and regulatory compliance in Australia.
Dental Trauma
Moderate yield
Traumatic Dental Injuries: A Manual (Andreasen), 3rd edn (2011)
Classification, emergency management, splinting protocols, and follow-up. Also refer to the IADT guidelines at iadt-dentaltrauma.org.
Other Resources on the List
Supporting material
Implants: Practical Procedures in Implant Dentistry (Ho), 2021
Basic implant principles and treatment planning. Not heavily tested but occasionally appears.
Community Dentistry: Dentistry, Dental Practice and the Community (Burt & Eklund), 7th edn, 2020
Public health dentistry, epidemiology, and access to care.
Pain Management: Bell's Oral and Facial Pain (Okeson), 7th edn, 2014
TMJ disorders, orofacial pain classification, and management.
Patient Motivation: Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick), 4th edn, 2023
Behaviour change strategies. Relevant to the clinical communication component.
Dental Board of Australia — Policies, Codes, Guidelines
Available at dentalboard.gov.au. Covers professional conduct, advertising, and scope of practice regulations.
Recommended Journals
Supplementary reading
The ADC lists six journals: Australian Dental Journal, British Dental Journal, International Dental Journal, Journal of the American Dental Association, Journal of Dentistry, and Operative Dentistry. You don't need to read these cover to cover. They're useful for staying current on guideline updates and evidence-based practice statements that may inform exam questions.
How to actually use this list
You cannot read 40+ textbooks in 4-6 months. Nobody does. The candidates who pass prioritise ruthlessly. Here's the realistic approach:
Read cover to cover: Therapeutic Guidelines (mandatory), Cawson's Essentials (oral pathology questions are common), and Little & Falace's (medically compromised patient management appears in almost every vignette).
Read the relevant chapters: Cohen's (pulp diagnosis and treatment planning chapters), Carranza's (classification and non-surgical management chapters), Shillingburg or Rosenstiel (preparation design principles), Davidson's (cardiovascular, endocrine, and haematology chapters).
Use as reference: Everything else. You'll encounter questions during practice that require specific knowledge from these texts. Look them up as needed rather than reading them front to back.
Don't skip: ADA Infection Control Guidelines. It's not a long read, and infection control questions carry weight. Getting these wrong signals unsafe practice.
Remy teaches from these exact books.
Every Reviz question cites the specific textbook section — Therapeutic Guidelines, Cawson's, Cohen's, Carranza's. When you get an answer wrong, you see exactly which guideline applies. Try 10 free questions.
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