second section of the dental state examination

How is the examination structured?

Under § 42 ZApprO the earliest date is the end of the second subject semester after passing the First Section. § 43 ZApprO prescribes the format: an oral-practical examination consisting of a practical and an oral element. Subjects examined are Dental Prosthetics, Orthodontics, Oral Surgery with Oral, Maxillofacial and Facial Surgery, and the subject group Tooth Preservation including Endodontology, Dental Hard Tissue Science, Periodontology, and Paediatric Dentistry. The Saxon State Examination Office allocates 10.5 examination days of around eight hours each for this, plus four oral examinations of 20 to 30 minutes. Seven marks are awarded in the practical component and four in the oral component.

What happens in the practical component?

Work is carried out on standardised training scenarios, predominantly on a phantom head. Preparations, fillings, root canal treatments, orthodontic appliances, and prosthetic work are completed under time pressure and each marked individually. Preparation in the phantom course is decisive here. Each mark must be at least a pass grade; otherwise that area is deemed failed. Two resits are permitted per subject or subject group, and subjects already passed may not be retaken. Under § 44 ZApprO the Second Section takes place during the semester break, and the oral-practical examination of a student must be completed within four weeks. This makes the phase organisationally intensive.

What does this mean for students studying in EU countries?

Universities in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, or Lithuania examine phantom training in their own formats, often as semester-based course examinations rather than as a unified state examination. There is no direct equivalent of the German Second Section. Students wishing to transfer to Germany after completing the phantom section therefore regularly encounter recognition questions, which are decided by the competent state authority. In practice, a transfer shortly before or after completion of the phantom stage tends to be more difficult than an early transfer.

Common misconceptions

The Second Section is not a purely practical skills examination. Each subject includes an oral examination covering the underlying principles and their clinical significance. And it is waived for some transitional cases: under § 134 ZApprO, students who had already passed the dental preliminary examination under the old rules skip this section.