UPPSC Dental MO PYQ Digest: Subject-wise Topics from 2018 & 2023

Two UPPSC Dental Surgeon screening papers exist in the public record before the 2026 cycle: 2018 and 2023. That's 240 dental questions plus 60 General Studies questions, taken five years apart. They are the closest thing to a syllabus that UPPSC publishes.

This post compiles the subject-wise recurring topics across both papers — what UPPSC actually tests, weighted by frequency, and grouped so you can revise by subject rather than by year.

Data window. 2018 and 2023 papers, 120 dental questions each. UPPSC did not hold the Dental Surgeon screening between 2018 and 2023; older papers (pre-2018) are not in the canonical archive used here. We will refresh this digest when the 2026 paper is released.
Confidence. 2023 dental answers lean on candidate recalls (MDSPrep) plus textbook knowledge. 2018 answers are derived from textbook knowledge — no official UPPSC answer key has been released. Treat as preparation guidance, not as an official key.

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The 30:120 split is stable

Both 2018 and 2023 followed the same blueprint:

• Q1–Q30: General Studies + Current Affairs (Indian polity, modern history, basic GK, UP-specific items, light arithmetic).
• Q31–Q150: Dental Sciences (no separate "basic sciences" or "applied" segmentation — questions are interleaved by topic).

Expect the same structure in 2026. Build your time budget around it (≈25 min GS, ≈85 min dental, ≈10 min review).

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Subject weight across two papers

The table below compares subject share between the 2018 and 2023 papers. Counts are manual subject-tags of the 120 dental questions in each paper; cross-subject questions are assigned to the dominant theme.

Subject	2018 (Q31–150)	2023 (Q31–150)	Two-paper share
Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics	~18	~12	12.5%
Oral Pathology	~12	~14	10.8%
Anatomy & Histology (Oral + General)	~12	~13	10.4%
Periodontology	~14	~8	9.2%
Prosthodontics	~8	~8	6.7%
Oral Medicine & Radiology	~7	~8	6.3%
Orthodontics	~6	~5	4.6%
Pedodontics	~2	~6	3.3%
Pharmacology	~3	~4	2.9%
Physiology & Biochemistry	~2	~6	3.3%
General Medicine & Pathology	~3	~3	2.5%
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery	~3	~4	2.9%
Public Health Dentistry	~3	~2	2.1%
Microbiology & Immunology	~1	~3	1.7%
Cross-subject / Other	~26	~24	20.8%

Take-aways:

• The "Big Four" — Conservative-Endo, Oral Pathology, Anatomy, and Periodontology — make up 40%+ of the dental paper. Prioritise them.
• Pedodontics doubled between 2018 and 2023 (2 → 6 questions). Worth more time than the 2018 paper alone would suggest.
• Periodontology dropped from 14 → 8. Treat as still high-priority but expect single-digit counts going forward unless 2026 reverts.
• Public Health Dentistry is consistently small (~2–3 questions). Cover indices, fluoride, and survey methodology; do not invest beyond.
• Pharmacology and Oral Surgery are tight subjects: small in count but with high repeat rate of the same micro-topics (LA agents, antibiotics, third-molar extraction).

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Top recurring topics by subject

Below are the topics that appeared in both 2018 and 2023 papers, or recurred with minor variation. These are your "must-revise" list.

Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics — heaviest weight

• Root canal anatomy & classifications — Vertucci types, Weine, mandibular molar canal counts. (2018 Q114, 2023 multiple.)
• Pulp therapy in primary teeth — ferric sulphate vs formocresol; application time. (2018 Q133; recurs as pedo overlap in 2023.)
• Rubber dam isolation — clamp selection, rubber dam thickness gauges. (2018 Q107.)
• Restorative materials chemistry — GIC setting reaction, composite filler types, amalgam composition.
• Caries classification & diagnosis — Black's classification still tested; ICDAS occasionally appears.

Oral Pathology

• Cysts and tumours of the jaws — odontogenic vs non-odontogenic; ameloblastoma variants.
• Premalignant lesions — leukoplakia, erythroplakia, lichen planus, oral submucous fibrosis.
• Pigment-related questions — lipofuscin (wear-and-tear), melanin, haemosiderin. (2023 Q144.)
• White lesions differentials — including White Sponge Nevus / Cannon's disease. (2018 Q127.)
• Fungal vs bacterial mycoses — Actinomycosis as bacterial; Histoplasmosis as Darling's disease. (2023 Q124, Q145.)

Anatomy & Histology

• Branchial arch derivatives — tongue innervation and muscle origins. (2018 Q61.)
• Cephalometric landmarks — Nasion at frontonasal suture is a near-annual question. (2023 Q150.)
• Mandibular and maxillary foramina — mental foramen, mandibular foramen positions.
• Oral histology — enamel rod structure, dentin tubules, cementum types.

Periodontology

• Indices — Löe & Silness, Russell's PI, Ramfjord, OHI-S.
• Flap classification & technique — Widman, modified Widman, papilla preservation.
• Biology of bone resorption — OPG / RANKL / RANK system. (2023 Q149.)
• Periodontal microbiology — red-complex bacteria (P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, T. denticola).

Prosthodontics

• Impression materials — elastomeric vs hydrocolloid indications; dimensional stability.
• Complete denture anatomy — primary vs secondary stress-bearing areas; post-dam location.
• Centric relation, vertical dimension — methods of recording.
• Implant biomechanics — at least 1 question on osseointegration or implant abutment per paper.

Oral Medicine & Radiology

• Cephalometric and panoramic landmarks — overlap with anatomy.
• TMJ imaging — Campbell's line / transcranial vs transorbital. (2018 Q139.)
• Salivary gland disorders — Sjögren's, sialolithiasis, mucocele vs ranula.
• Radiation biology & safety — units, dose limits.

Orthodontics

• Angle's classification — Class I/II/III sub-types.
• Cephalometric analysis basics — SNA, SNB, ANB.
• Growth & development — Moss functional matrix, Scammon's curves.
• Andrews' six keys (and the 7th key debate). (2018 Q31.)

Pedodontics

• Behaviour management — modelling, tell-show-do, HOME, sedation indications. (2023 Q142.)
• Primary tooth pulp therapy — pulpotomy agents and timing. (2018 Q133.)
• Eruption sequence — primary and permanent.

Pharmacology

• Local anaesthetics — lidocaine + epinephrine doses, max safe dose, contraindications.
• Antibiotics — amoxicillin + clavulanate, metronidazole, clindamycin.
• NSAIDs and analgesics — paracetamol vs ibuprofen ceiling effect, COX-2 selectivity.

Public Health Dentistry

• DMFT / DMFS — interpretation and limitations.
• Fluoride — systemic vs topical; CDC and WHO recommendations.
• Survey methodology — pathfinder survey, WHO oral health surveys.

Physiology & Biochemistry

• Haemoglobin & heme chemistry — protoporphyrin IX. (2023 Q143.)
• Vitamin deficiencies and oral manifestations — scurvy, pellagra, riboflavin.
• Calcium and phosphate metabolism — PTH, vitamin D, calcitonin axis.

General Medicine & Pathology

• Tetanus toxin mechanism — inhibitory interneuron synapse blockade. (2023 Q146.)
• TB diagnostics — Xpert MTB/RIF, rifampicin resistance detection. (2023 Q148.)
• CPR basics — compression rate and depth. (2018 Q97.)

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What's the smartest study order?

A practical sequence for a candidate who is 8–10 weeks out from the screening test:

1. Weeks 1–3 (core dental): Conservative-Endo + Oral Pathology + Periodontology. These three subjects cover ~33% of the dental paper. Use standard textbooks (Grossman, Shafer, Carranza). Each subject = 1 week.
2. Weeks 4–5 (anatomy + applied basics): Oral Anatomy & Histology, Physiology, Biochemistry. Use BDS first-year notes — don't re-read the textbook end to end.
3. Week 6 (clinical applied): Prosthodontics + Oral Medicine & Radiology + Orthodontics. Aim for breadth.
4. Week 7 (light subjects + GS): Pedodontics, Pharmacology, Public Health, OMFS, Microbiology. Plus full GS revision using a UP-specific GK booklet.
5. Week 8 (PYQ-only): Solve 2023 solved paper untimed first, then 2018 solved paper timed.
6. Final 7 days: Re-read this digest. Solve the 2023 question paper PDF and 2018 question paper PDF without answers — pure recall.

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Frequently asked

Q: Are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 UPPSC Dental MO papers available anywhere?
No. UPPSC did not conduct the Dental Surgeon screening between 2018 and 2023. The next confirmed cycle is 2026. The two-paper digest in this post is currently the complete public PYQ corpus.

Q: How accurate are these subject-share percentages?
The counts are manual subject-tags. Cross-subject questions (e.g., oral pathology with a microbiology twist, or anatomy with a radiology twist) bias toward the dominant theme. Expect ±2 percentage points of drift if you re-tag with a different rubric. The ranking of subjects, however, is stable.

Q: Will the 2026 paper follow the same blueprint?
UPPSC has not signalled a syllabus change. The 30:120 GS-to-dental split, the 150-question paper length, and the subject distribution should remain within ±10% of the 2023 paper.

Q: Where do I find the 2026 paper after it's released?
MDVault tracks every UPPSC dental-stream paper as it is released — official PDF plus a solved walkthrough within 7–10 days of the exam. Follow the Dental MO catalog page for updates.

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Last updated: May 2026. Refreshed when the 2026 paper becomes available.