Empowering The Next Generation of Dental Professionals
What is LDS Part 2?
LDS Part 2 is a face-to-face clinical examination, run by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, sat over two days. It has two sections — and you must pass both in the same sitting:
- Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) — 12 stations, each lasting seven minutes, assessing communication and clinical skills.
- Structured Clinical Reasoning (SCR) — six 20-minute cases, delivered as structured discussions with examiners, assessing diagnosis, management planning and treatment planning.
The SCR replaced the ‘unseen case’ examination from June 2026. The LDS now assesses the GDC Safe Practitioner Framework, at the standard of a safe Day-One BDS-qualified dentist. To sit Part 2 you must have passed Part 1 within the past five years.
Inside the OSCE
You move through a circuit of 12 seven-minute stations that test the practical skills of safe clinical practice — communication, history-taking, explaining treatment, clinical examination, and judgement and decision-making.
Inside the Structured Clinical Reasoning (SCR)
Across six 20-minute cases you work through diagnosis, management and treatment planning directly with examiners — explaining your reasoning and justifying a safe, appropriate plan. It rewards a clear, logical clinical thought process rather than memorised answers.
How to prepare
- Practise timed OSCE circuits until seven minutes per station feels natural.
- Rehearse structured communication: greeting, history, explanation, checking understanding, closing.
- Build a repeatable framework for diagnosis and treatment planning you can apply to any SCR case.
How Visage Dental Academy helps
Our LDS Part 2 online mock OSCEs recreate the real exam environment with experienced tutors and detailed feedback, so you walk in knowing exactly what to expect.
At a glance: 2 days · 12-station OSCE (7 min each) + six 20-min SCR cases · pass both in one sitting · up to 3 attempts (re-sit up to twice) · results ~4 weeks.
Fees & dates (RCS England): £1,575 for sittings up to summer 2026, rising to £1,793 from September 2026. Held at RCS England, London; booking via Eventbrite. Confirm on the RCS England LDS Part 2 page.