10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The ADEX exam has 120 questions and runs 1 hour 55 minutes.
These 10 free ADEX questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the ADEX Dental Hygiene Examination blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Subgingival instrumentation is planned for a 58-year-old with a prosthetic aortic valve. The patient can take oral medication but developed immediate urticaria after penicillin. Which single oral dose should be given 30-60 minutes beforehand?
Correct answer: C - Doxycycline 100 mg orally
At 32 weeks' gestation, a healthy patient becomes pale, nauseated, and light-headed after several minutes in a fully supine chair. The symptoms began only after reclining. What should the hygienist do immediately?
Correct answer: A - Turn her toward the left side and reassess
Periodontal charting on a dentition of 24 teeth records six sites per tooth. Thirty-six sites bleed on probing; all probing depths are 3 mm or less, with no clinical attachment loss or radiographic bone loss. Which diagnosis fits the data?
Correct answer: D - Localized gingivitis on an intact periodontium
A 32-year-old has interdental CAL of 5-6 mm, bone loss to the middle third of the roots affecting 40% of teeth, 7-mm pockets, and a Class II furcation. No teeth have been lost to periodontitis. The worst site shows 48% radiographic bone loss; the patient does not smoke and has no diabetes. Which classification is supported?
Correct answer: B - Generalized Stage III, Grade C periodontitis
After cleaning and drying an occlusal surface, the examiner sees localized enamel breakdown without visible dentin. The area is matte, rough, and lies in a plaque-stagnation site. How should the lesion be recorded?
Correct answer: A - Active ICDAS 3 lesion
Following intense sunlight, a patient repeatedly develops clusters of small vesicles that rupture into painful ulcers on the hard palate. The gingiva remains normal, and fever is absent. Which diagnosis best matches the pattern?
Correct answer: C - Recurrent intraoral herpes
Several mandibular incisors are asymptomatic and respond normally to pulp sensibility testing. Periapical images show multiple lesions that have matured from radiolucent to mixed radiopaque with thin radiolucent rims. What diagnosis best explains the images?
Correct answer: B - Periapical cemento-osseous dysplasia
A posterior bitewing includes the crowns and alveolar crest, but every interproximal contact is overlapped. What adjustment should be made for the retake?
Correct answer: D - Direct the central ray through the contacts
A periapical image shows a smooth round enlargement centered on a root canal. The canal outline blends into the defect and cannot be traced through it. Which condition is most likely?
Correct answer: C - Internal root resorption
Localized swelling and percussion pain are present at tooth #19 in a patient who is 22 weeks pregnant. Existing bitewings do not show the root apices. Which image should be obtained?
Correct answer: A - Obtain a periapical image now with optimized technique
The ADEX exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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