The periodontics Qualifying Exam: dates, format and how to prepare

Board certification by the American Board of Periodontology (ABP) has two parts: a written Qualifying Exam (QE) and an Oral Exam. You have to pass the QE before you can sit the Oral Exam. The 2027 QE is the first on a new blueprint. Here is what to expect and a practical way to prepare.

Exam dates and deadlines

• 2027 Qualifying Exam: January 25 to 29, 2027, at Pearson VUE testing centers. Seats are first come, first served, so book as soon as Pearson VUE registration opens.
• Application deadline: November 20, 2026. The ABP says registration usually closes in the third week of November.
• Results: by postal mail, pass or fail only, usually six to eight weeks after the exam closes. The ABP calls 2027 a benchmarking exam for the new blueprint and expects results to take longer than usual.
• Oral Exam: passing the QE in January 2027 makes you eligible for the Oral Exam in May 2028, and you have until May 2029 to complete it unless the ABP grants an extension.

Exam format

The ABP describes the QE as a computer-based, multiple-choice exam on the science and practice of periodontics and dental implant surgery. Scoring is criterion based, set with psychometricians, and you receive only a pass or fail. The ABP doesn't publish the number of questions, the time limit or the domain weights, and it doesn't release exam questions.

Expect a long day of single-best-answer questions, many of them short clinical cases. Our full-length mock is 200 questions in 4 hours, a steady 72 seconds a question, so the length and pace feel familiar on the day.

Who can sit the exam

You need to have completed a CODA-accredited periodontics program. Residents in their final year can apply with a signed letter from their program director. If you have finished but don't have your certificate yet, a letter from your program director and dean confirming completion works too.

The application packet has an application form, an attestation form, a credentials form and the $850 fee. If you don't pass, you reapply with a new application and another $850 fee by the next deadline. Check the ABP's current requirements before you plan around them.

What the 2027 exam covers

The new blueprint has 11 domains, each broken into objectives, from foundational science and diagnosis to implant therapy, implant restorations and oral pathology. The ABP has said the QE places emphasis on oral medicine and oral pathology. Each domain below links to a short study guide with free practice questions.

• Foundational Knowledge16% · 160 questions
• Diagnosis14% · 126 questions
• Periodontal Therapy: Non-Surgical and Surgical14% · 133 questions
• Treatment Planning and Patient Management11% · 100 questions
• Implant-Related Therapy11% · 106 questions
• Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine9% · 87 questions
• Etiology of Periodontal and Peri-implant Diseases8% · 65 questions
• Prognosis5% · 49 questions
• Evaluation and Maintenance4% · 36 questions
• Implant Restorations4% · 38 questions
• Periodontal and Systemic Relationships4% · 37 questions

Domains from the ABP's 2027 Qualifying Exam blueprint. The ABP doesn't publish domain weights; the percentages are how we weight our mock exams.

What to read

The ABP lists the journals its item writers draw on. They are the best guide to what to read:

• The 2017 World Workshop on the classification of periodontal and peri-implant diseases and conditions
• AAP position papers and best evidence consensus papers
• Journal of Periodontology and Clinical Advances in Periodontics
• Journal of Clinical Periodontology and Periodontology 2000
• Journal of Periodontal Research and Clinical Oral Implants Research
• International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants, and the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry
• The Journal of the American Dental Association

The EFP's S3 clinical practice guidelines for stage I to III and stage IV periodontitis and for peri-implant diseases pull much of this literature together and are free to read in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology.

An eight-week study plan

1. Week 1: find your gaps. Take a short mixed set of questions cold. Note which domains you miss, not just your score.
2. Week 2: classification and diagnosis. Stage and grade every case you see until the rules are automatic. Learn the peri-implant case definitions, endo-periodontal lesions and recession types.
3. Week 3: etiology, prognosis and the systemic link. Risk factors, prognosis systems, and what the consensus papers say about diabetes, cardiovascular disease and pregnancy.
4. Week 4: periodontal therapy. Expected outcomes of non-surgical therapy, the EFP treatment steps, osseous and regenerative surgery, root coverage and crown lengthening.
5. Week 5: implants. Ridge preservation, augmentation, sinus procedures, timing of placement and loading, restorations and peri-implantitis treatment.
6. Week 6: oral pathology and oral medicine. Desquamative and reactive gingival lesions, white and red lesions, odontogenic cysts and the oral signs of systemic disease.
7. Week 7: foundations and patient management. Surgical anatomy, pharmacology, materials, statistics, sedation, medically complex patients and office emergencies.
8. Week 8: timed practice. Sit a full-length timed mock, review every miss and every lucky guess, then drill your two weakest domains.

Read every rationale, including on questions you got right. The exam rewards knowing why the second-best answer is wrong for this patient.

Exam week

Stop adding new material two or three days out. Skim your notes on missed questions, confirm your Pearson VUE appointment and ID requirements, and sleep.

Exam facts checked against abperio.org on October 16, 2026. Periodontics QBank is independent and not affiliated with the American Board of Periodontology or the American Academy of Periodontology.