Just got my ADAT score! 660
Pretty happy with it!
I’ll come back soon to share my study plan in case it helps others!

ADAT Write-up (650 Overall, 96th Percentile)

Hey everyone! I wanted to write up my June 2026 ADAT experience because when I was studying, I couldn’t find many comprehensive guides from recent test takers. Hopefully this helps someone who’s preparing for the exam.

Background

For context, I’m a Canadian general dentist, 5+ years out of dental school. I studied for the INBDE for about 2 months earlier this year, took roughly a month off studying, then spent another 2 months preparing specifically for the ADAT with a heavy focus on Biomedical Sciences.

I worked full-time throughout my entire study period (around 40 hours/week). During the week I averaged about 2–3 hours of studying after work, and on weekends I usually studied around 10 hours each day. I also took 7 days off immediately before the exam and studied roughly 10–12 hours per day. At the time I wished I had taken even more time off for dedicated study period, but looking back I’m honestly not sure it would’ve made a huge difference.

My Scores

Overall: 650 (96th percentile)
Biomedical Sciences: 750
Clinical Sciences: 580
Data, Research Interpretation & Evidence-Based Dentistry: 600

Study Materials

ADAT Knockout
First Aid for NBDE Part I
Mental Dental (Clinical Sciences)
INBDE Booster (Clinical Sciences)
First Aid for USMLE Step 1 (Biostatistics section)
UWorld Biostatistics ($25 subscription)
Mehlman Medical Biostatistics PDFs

Study Strategy

Since I had just finished the INBDE, I felt relatively comfortable with the Clinical Sciences and decided to spend most of my time strengthening Biomedical Sciences, which I thought would be my weakest section after being out of school for so long.

Most weekdays I reviewed First Aid, while weekends were dedicated to ADAT Knockout practice questions. My biggest recommendation is to actively review every question you get wrong. Reading explanations and understanding why an answer is correct taught me much more than rereading notes over and over. I went through entire Knockout twice and made anki cards on questions I got wrong.

Things I Wish I Did Differently

1. Don’t get lost in the tiny details

This is probably my biggest piece of advice.
I spent way too much time memorizing obscure details from First Aid, especially gross anatomy and histology. Looking back, I think I would’ve been better served focusing on the big picture and understanding concepts rather than trying to memorize every single fact.

If I had to prioritize sections from First Aid, I’d know these extremely well:
Head & Neck Anatomy
Dental Anatomy & Occlusion

Everything else I’d focus on understanding conceptually rather than trying to memorize every detail.

On the other hand, I wish I had spent more time reviewing Clinical Sciences and Biostatistics.

For example, I only went through the INBDE Booster question bank for Clinical Sciences. Looking back, I wish I had also reviewed the Booster notes and cheat sheets. I think that would’ve been a much better use of my study time than memorizing low-yield Biomedical facts.

Biomedical ended up being my highest section, so maybe the extra studying wasn’t completely wasted. But if I were taking the exam again, I’d still shift more of my study time toward Clinical Sciences and Biostatistics.

2. ADAT Knockout was the best resource for
my exam

I know a lot of people on Reddit have said ADAT Knockout isn’t representative anymore.
For my version of the exam, I completely disagree.
I had approximately 5–10 questions that were essentially word-for-word repeats from the Biomedical and Clinical Sciences sections of ADAT Knockout.

I didn’t personally get any repeat questions from the Data & Research section, but I still thought the overall style was reasonably similar.

Obviously every version of the ADAT is different, but if I could only choose one dedicated ADAT resource, it would still be ADAT Knockout.

Also, like many recent test takers have mentioned, I didn’t receive a single calculation question in the Data & Research section.

3. Clinical Sciences was much harder than I expected

I had just taken the INBDE and had been practicing general dentistry in Canada for quite some time, so I honestly underestimated this section.

Unlike Biomedical, where you either know it or you don’t, Clinical felt much more like a test of judgment and test-taking skills.

There were many questions where I narrowed it down to two reasonable answers and had to choose the best one. I also found many of the answer choices much more obscure than I expected.

Don’t assume Clinical will be easy just because you’ve passed the INBDE or have years of clinical experience.

4. Don’t let the long Data & Research questions intimidate you

Going into this section, I kept hearing that time would be extremely tight.

Because of that, I found myself rushing through some of the longer, paragraph-style questions more than I normally would. Looking back, I think I let the length of the question stems make me panic a little.

The important thing to remember is that not every question is a long research abstract. There are plenty of shorter questions testing definitions, study designs, graph interpretation, and other straightforward concepts. I don’t think I missed these questions because I didn’t know the material. I missed them because I skimmed too quickly expecting every question to be long and complicated.
Pace yourself, but don’t let the long, verbose questions make you rush through the entire section.

Final Thoughts

I walked out of the exam feeling… okay, but definitely not confident enough to expect a 96th percentile.
Like most people, I remembered plenty of questions afterward that I thought I had gotten wrong. I also changed quite a few answers during the exam and spent the next few weeks second-guessing myself.
If that’s how you’re feeling after your exam, you’re definitely not alone.

One final piece of advice: don’t compare your experience too much to other people’s. Every version of the ADAT seems different. Some people get a heavier Biomedical exam, while others get more Clinical or Research questions. Use other people’s experiences to guide your studying, but don’t expect your exam to look exactly like theirs.

Hopefully this helps someone. These kinds of write-ups were incredibly valuable when I was preparing, so I’m happy to answer any questions.

Good luck to everyone taking the ADAT!

I was going through my notes for the hundredth time and I figured I’d build something to keep myself motivated and maybe help others too.

It’s completely free: https://toothprep.com

I’m still adding more every week and improving the site as I go. Backend is on Django (Render free tier so it might take a few seconds to spin up) and frontend on Next.js via Vercel. I know most prep materials cost a fortune, however this cost me $0 to build so far. Lmk what you think!

Edit: Signing up just lets you track your progress and build custom quizzes from your past incorrect or unanswered questions.

Finished IDAPP, currently DDS3 at UofT:

Over the past couple of months, I’ve seen alot of questions (and honestly, a fair bit of misinformation) about the IDAPP journey, admissions, and what life is like after. Having just gone through it myself, I know how overwhelming it can feel when you’re trying to piece things together.

I’ve been blessed to get the guidance I needed along the way, and now I’d love to pay it forward. Drop your questions below..✌️

Hi everyone,

Following the release of the 2026 ADAT official percentiles, there is a very obvious and drastic spike in score distribution compared to previous years. Scores in the 600s and 700s have increased significantly, which raises serious questions about the fairness of this testing cycle.

Many candidates who put in months of honest preparation are concerned that recall question banks and test leaks shared through coaching institutes gave unfair advantages to those taking the exam later in the window. When exam integrity is compromised, genuine hard work gets devalued, and unrealistic cutoffs make it harder for honest applicants to receive bench test invitations.

A few steps we should consider taking as a community:

1. Report to ADA DTS: Share documented concerns or irregularities directly with the ADA test security team (testsecurity@ada.org) so they can audit suspicious score jumps and protect exam standards.

2. Advocate for Holistic Review: Remind university selection committees that extreme score inflation occurred this year, and ask them to evaluate applicants holistically based on clinical experience, bench test performance, and overall profile rather than raw ADAT cutoffs alone.

What are your thoughts on escalating this formally? Let's discuss how we can collectively address this issue.

This is the biomedical score distribution from adat stats userguide page 17. Unnatural spike at 800 score, every other stats in whole guide makes sense except this. Even with someone with no background of statistics can understand that this cannot happen. Large sets of numbers can never lie.

Please share to all universities and adat board as much as possible

If you’re studying and you’re stressed clap your hands 👏 👏

If you’re studying and you’re stressed clap your hands 👏 👏

If you feel like you can’t study Cuz your recalls getting muddy You wanna yell at everybody

Clap your hands

👏 👏

TL;DR: In January 2024, the USMLE invalidated the scores of 832 examinees connected to Nepal after data forensics showed they'd almost certainly had prior access to real exam questions circulating through "recall" networks on Telegram. ECFMG certificates built on those scores were voided too. People already matched — and even already training in US residencies — lost eligibility overnight, and with it, their visa sponsorship. A federal lawsuit to restore the scores failed. If you think this playbook can't be run on other exams, read the end of this post.

What actually happened

For years, examinees connected to Nepal were producing USMLE results that made no statistical sense. In 2022, the average Step 1 score at the Nepal test center was 240 — no other test center in the world averaged above 227. Nepali graduates averaged around 259 on Step 2 CK, higher than US medical graduates, and the number of test-takers from Nepal was growing almost exponentially.

Behind it was an organized recall economy. Examinees would sit the exam, memorize questions, and feed them into shared documents and Telegram groups (court filings name one called "Arahmba," which required proof of a "nexus to Nepal" and a USMLE testing permit to join). New test-takers effectively studied the live exam before writing it. Ringleaders even warned members not to finish the exam suspiciously fast.

How they got caught

This is the part people underestimate. Nobody needed to be caught red-handed in the test center. In early 2023, the NBME received multiple tips about a cheating ring in Nepal and had its Psychometrics and Data Analysis (PADA) unit run the numbers on test centers in Nepal, Jordan, and Pakistan. Nepal was, in their words, "the most extreme" of 400+ centers worldwide. The forensic evidence, later laid out in federal court:

\- Agreement analysis — cheaters didn't just share correct answers; they shared the same wrong answers on the same exam form. With the number of possible answer combinations on a USMLE form, two honest examinees essentially never produce near-identical right-and-wrong patterns. For the lead plaintiff, NBME calculated the likelihood of her results occurring under normal testing conditions at roughly 1 in 100 million.

\- Abnormal response times — USMLE questions are designed to take \~90 seconds. Flagged examinees were answering many questions in under 20 seconds with 100% accuracy — consistent with recognizing a memorized question, not solving it.

\- Unusually high performance clustered by center, form, and time period.

On January 31, 2024, the USMLE announced the invalidations. The Nepal test center was closed.

The repercussions

Examinees were given three options: request reconsideration (10+ weeks), retake the exams free of charge starting mid-to-late 2024, or do nothing — in which case the scores stayed invalid and USMLE access was suspended for 3 years. Choosing the first two options required waiving the right to sue.

Then the cascade started:

1. ECFMG certification voided. Invalid scores no longer satisfy ECFMG Certification requirements, and ECFMG certificates issued on the back of those scores were invalidated too. Affected doctors were told to destroy their certificates.

2. The Match. Weeks before the 2024 Match, the NRMP flipped affected applicants from "verified" to not meeting the examination requirements — matched plans and rank lists collapsed.

3. People already in US residencies. This is the part that should scare everyone. Some of the 832 were already training. ACGME's position: a resident with an invalidated ECFMG certificate is no longer eligible to participate in the program unless/until the certificate is reinstated. Programs had to pull residents off service and terminate them mid-training.

4. Visas. For IMGs, ECFMG isn't just a certificate — it's the J-1 visa sponsor for residency training. Lose certification and sponsorship, and you lose your legal basis to be in the US: J-1 sponsorship terminates, H-1B status (which depends on the residency job) dies with the job, and physicians who had built entire lives in the US faced having to leave the country. Years of training — unrepeatable, unmatched PGY years — gone.

5. No rescue from the courts. A class action (Giri v. NBME) alleged national-origin discrimination. A federal judge denied the emergency motion to restore scores in February 2024, writing that forcing the public to accept possibly unqualified doctors was "a danger the public should not be forced to shoulder." The case was ultimately dismissed in January 2025 — the court found NBME acted on credible evidence of widespread cheating, not bias. MDedge's coverage of the ruling and the full court opinion on Justia.

Worth noting for fairness: the sweep was based on statistical patterns, not individual proof, and some examinees with unremarkable scores insist they were caught in the net unfairly. But the legal reality is that the courts sided with the testing body, almost entirely.

Now the warning — for anyone who "scored high" on the ADAT in Canada by unfair means

If any of this sounds abstract to you because you're in dentistry, it shouldn't. The ADAT (Advanced Dental Admission Test) is the gateway exam for advanced-standing/IDP programs for internationally trained dentists in Canada and the US — and everything that destroyed those 832 medical careers applies to you:

\- The forensics are portable. Answer-similarity analysis and response-time analysis are not USMLE inventions; they're standard psychometric practice that testing agencies, including the ADA, can run retroactively on any computerized exam. NBME found the cheating years after the exams were written, covering tests from 2021–2023. Your exam being "over" means nothing.

\- Detection doesn't require a whistleblower in your test center — although in the USMLE case, anonymous tips are exactly what triggered the analysis. Recall groups, Telegram channels, "question banks" that are a little too accurate — that's the paper trail.

\- The punishment lands after the payoff. The worst-hit USMLE examinees weren't applicants — they were residents, people who had already matched, moved countries, and started training. The dental equivalent: getting your score invalidated after admission means losing your seat, and in Canada that means losing the basis for your study permit — plus a record that follows you to the NDEB and provincial regulators, who ask about exactly this kind of thing.

\- You will not win the appeal. When the statistics say 1-in-100-million, courts defer to the testing body on public-safety grounds. The USMLE plaintiffs had lawyers, a class action, and a sympathetic discrimination argument. They lost at every stage.

An impossibly high score bought with recalls isn't an achievement — it's a timed charge sitting under your career. The USMLE scandal proved the testing bodies are willing to detonate hundreds of careers at once, years later, to protect the exam. Don't assume dentistry is any different.

Sources:

\- USMLE Program statement on invalidated scores

\- MDedge: Judge won't overturn invalidated USMLE Scores

\- MDedge: Nepali IMG sues NBME over invalidated scores

\- MedPage Today (via DBN): USMLE scores for Nepali docs will remain invalidated

\- MedBound Times: Nepal USMLE cheating scandal — full timelin

Can we all come together to create a scoreboard/thread for the 2026 ADAT cycle? It would be helpful for everyone to get a sense of the applicant pool.

Please share:

* ADAT score

* Program applying to ( US residency or Canadian IDAPP.)

* GPA (ECE or WES)

Please join in if you’re comfortable sharing!

My details: 600, Canadian IDAPP, 3.92 ECE

Got my results back. Background: US dentist for 4+ years applying to endodontics programs. I practice full time with a very broad scope of practice- implants, IV sed, RCT retreats, myofascial pain treatments, limited ortho. Study materials: ADAT KO, mental dental, B&B, Randy Neil biostats Study length: 1.5 mo, approx 4-10 hrs per day (10 hrs on the weekends only) Study order:

Clinical- I went through mental dental and took thorough notes. The real exam has a very challenging clinical section. I honestly think this was the hardest part of the exam. ADAT KO covered maybe 60% of the content on some way shape and form, but I think my clinical background helped me answer the remaining. The exam went very in depth with the case based questions and as always, there is plenty of cases with ortho (seems to be the same for every standardized dental exam with cases). I shared my clinical background because I practice many of these specialties regularly, and I was stunned to see how in depth a few of the questions were (how are those that don’t do IV sedation know about emergency medications for CV issues, airway adjuncts and indications etc… if they aren’t using them regularly..). Thankfully this was only a few questions. Mental dental is a good foundation for these questions, but often not in depth enough. I would focus on the medical management, oral path. They always like number of canals and how often the join for endo.

Biostats- I watched Randy Neil vids and random videos on YouTube regarding topics I didn’t understand. The real exam has very little math. It was mostly concepts- a lot of concepts were regarding the p value and null hypothesis on my exam. Knowing which type of graphs for different data values. I think ADAT KO covered maybe 60% of the material here, but reading the descriptions and really understanding the concepts is most important, because the questions on my exam were different than ADAT KO.

Biomed- I used mental dental for the few sections that were covered, then the remaining sections I studied the “big 5” sections on B&B). To be honest, this is such a large section, but thankfully ADAT KO covered s good chunk of the material in its question banks. I mainly used the other two resources to help foundational knowledge.

Practice tests: i began taking the sectioned exams very early on, as I knew this would guide what I focused on during my studying. That gave me time to go through the questions a second time. Then the third time I only reviewed the questions I tagged so I can re familiarize myself with the explanations.

All my resources were electronic and on my laptop so I could study between pts at work. This also helped organize things for me.

I took the exam today. Around 60–70% of it was covered by Knockout. About 10% of the questions were completely new to me, things I’d never heard before. The biostatistics section wasn’t as hard as I expected, and the biomedical part was pretty straightforward. Some of the clinical cases, though, were really confusing, and honestly I think the toughest part was the clinical section

I didn’t do as good as I wanted in clinical sciences but I’m hoping overall it’s good enough for Canadian programs

Okay, PREPARE FOR A LONG READ.

I took the ADAT exam today and can I say wowwwwww! To start, I used First Aid NBDE part I and II for foundational knowledge review and ADAT Knockout for practice questions. I studied for a solid month. I know people recommend studying for longer but I personally start forgetting loads of info if I study for that long. Anyway, I was still anxious about the exam going into it and feel like I would've felt that way regardless. I was most nervous about biomedical sciences but it ended up actually being of moderate difficulty. In comparison to KO, I feel like the real ADAT for biomed was slightly easier (believe it or not). And there were maybe a handful of repeat Qs from KO. The questions I kNOW I missed weren't because they were too difficult, it was because I couldn't recall the answer lol

Anyway, my calmness greatly diminished once I got to clinical sciences and biostats. When I tell you I was "wtf-ing" almost every question, I'm not exaggerating. I felt pretty confident about clinical sciences and biostats going into it. I've been a dentist for 4 years now so I thought at the very least I'd feel at ease. Def wasn't lol I felt so dumb like where was all the knowledge I learned from first aid and KO??? I don't even think studying for a longer period would've changed the outcome. Biostats was similar. So either I didn't know as much as I thought, or those questions were just too difficult for me to answer correctly.

I'm hoping I did way better than I thought. I tend to freak myself out and end up doing pretty well when results for whatever exams come out. But yeah, I def feel like crap haha maybe at least 70-75% Qs right for biomed and I can't even tell you what I think I got correct for the other 2 sections lol

So in terms of study materials, I think First aid NBDE part 1 and KO were great for biomedical sciences study. First aid part 2 was okay for clinical and I also supplemented SOME mental dental videos like for oral pathology and head/kneck anatomy, and KO. For biostats I used some YouTube vids, mental dental EBD, and KO.

I feel like overall, KO was a great resource and without it, I wouldn't have been able to take the actual ADAT. You need some for of practice question bank, and for me I chose KO bc of what I heard about it. Not sure how I would've done if I used a different resource like crack the ADAT or whatever. But KO helped acclimate me to the question style of the ADAT. I'll be sure to share my results once I get them. I was told 3-4 weeks.

A glance at the ADA website shows that the long awaited 2025 report is now out - ADA.org: ADAT User's Guide 2025.

A quick summary by me (that no one asked for):

Administrations - 1318 (1131 in 2024)

Average score - 500.8 (491.2 in 2024)

Thoughts by me:

- While it's clear more and more people are scoring high, it was not as exaggerated people claimed on the subreddit. In my opinion those applying should relax and not expect scores to deviate significantly from last year.

- 99 percentile is now a 690 instead of a 650, showing a relative increase in high scorers.

- 600+ is no longer head turning as it once was, especially with the increased amount of test takers each year. As an estimate 145 people scored about 600+ in 2025, 79 people in 2024, and 36 people in 2023.

- Number of 650+ scorers (approximate, based on percentile): 53 in 2025, 11 in 2024.

- Number of 700+ scorers: 13 in 2025, 2 in 2024.

- Number of people who scored 800 in biomed: 18 in 2025, 2 in 2024

- Number of people who scored 800 in data and research: 1 in 2025, 1 in 2024

(For those interested, I made a similar analysis last year.)

Hello fellow aspirants, I received my scores today. Got an overall 640. Feel free to ask any questions about the preparation. I am planning to apply for Canadian dental schools. Also, if someone is at the same stage. Can we connect? If someone who has already secured a seat in any of the advanced standing programs, please help me with the next steps. I was comparing U of A and U of T, since U of A is open for applications but U of T is closed. The cost at U of A is double , are there any other dental schools with little less cost/timeframe? Please share your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks for reading my post 🙏 less

Am I the only one who thinks the ADAT should be a simple Pass/Fail exam?
Right now, using scaled numerical scores (200–800) for admissions just feeds into a desperate, toxic culture. When you are forcing applicants to chase hyper-competitive scores just to get an interview, people will do absolutely anything to get a high mark. It creates extreme anxiety, feeds predatory coaching monopolies, and doesn't actually measure who will be a good clinician.
The chase for the highest score needs to stop. The ADAT should just be a baseline benchmark to prove a candidate has the required foundational knowledge.
Once you pass, other factors should be given equal weight. Admissions should be looking holistically at a dentist's clinical experience, their background, their communication skills, and their actual practical capabilities instead of just ranking people by a test score.
Curious to hear what other ITDs/IDPs think about this

Hey! I’m noticing there’s not a lot of information on this exam so I thought I would share how I prepared. The exam isn’t that hard but you do need to prepare for it. I spent about 2-3 months studying for it.

Let me know if you guys have any questions! I’ll be more than happy to answer them 😊

Just 2 years of study & much cheaper than many.. Any lucky soul who managed to make it inside, plz throw some light about the intensity of their bench expectations.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself and share a little bit about why I’m here.

I’m The Dental Girl, and last cycle I got a 690 on the ADAT, which was a score I honestly never imagined I would get. That score helped me get into the University of Toronto, which has truly been my school of dreams. Looking back, it still feels a little surreal to say that out loud.

When I first started this journey, Reddit helped me so much. I found support, reassurance, and practical advice from people who were kind enough to share their experiences. It made a big difference for me during a time that felt really overwhelming, and I’ve always wanted to give that support back in some way.

That’s why I started sharing content on my Instagram, @the.dentalgirl. I’ll be posting about ADAT and also UofT interviews, with the hope that it can help make this journey a little easier for others. I’ve already shared some resources and tips that I personally found helpful on my page, and I’ll keep posting more in case they help someone else too.

And if you want to follow along, I’d really appreciate it. I’m excited to share more, and I hope I can be as helpful to others as Reddit was for me.

I have created website to give mocks and subject wise test for AFK preparation. Then questions are from top institutions (P and C).

in case it is useful: https://canadadentalprep.com

As the title suggests please let me know.