Everything inside the bench test course with Dr. Kaur, written out in full: the seven live days, what is taught on each one, how your own preparations are evaluated, what happens in the practice week, the competency exam, what you need to supply, and what the course deliberately does not cover.
What this course actually is
A live, faculty-led course that trains the preparations US dental schools grade in their bench tests, and then marks your own work against those criteria.
Most bench test preparation fails for one reason: the candidate practises alone. Repetition without correction does not remove a fault, it makes it permanent, and the faults that cost marks are usually the ones the candidate can no longer see. This course is built the other way round. Dr. Kaur demonstrates each preparation live on Zoom, you cut the same preparation yourself, and your work is critiqued against the criteria programmes actually score, before you repeat it.
The sequence is fixed, from the simplest operative preparation through to a bridge, because each stage teaches control that the next one needs. The calendar is not fixed: you can take extra practice days between sessions whenever you need them.
What do you need most from a bench course?
Pick the line closest to your situation and see how the course handles it.
The sequence was built for exactly this
The first three days are Class II amalgam preparations, which is where outline form, depth control, proximal box design and smooth walls get built. Nothing in the crown days makes sense without those, and most candidates who struggle later skipped them.
You will not be asked to keep up with anyone. The dates are flexible, so you take extra practice days between sessions until the preparation is coming out the same way twice.
Inconsistency is nearly always an unseen fault
A preparation that is right on Monday and wrong on Thursday usually means the result is being produced by chance rather than by a method: a reference point that moves, a handpiece angle that drifts, a margin finished differently each time.
Days 4 to 6 take the full gold, PFM and all-ceramic preparations apart step by step, and every attempt you submit comes back marked. You find out which step is the variable one, rather than guessing.
Abutment alignment and path of insertion
A bridge is not two crowns. Abutment alignment, path of insertion and parallelism strategy are their own skill, and the common failure is going too parallel while chasing a result that looks perfect.
Day 7 covers the bridge, plus Class II and Class III composite preparations and how they differ from amalgam.
The pacing can be compressed around your date
The sequence is the same, but the plan around it changes: you narrow to the preparations your school has actually set, and every session gets rehearsed under time rather than practised loosely.
Message the Admin Team with your interview date and the exercises on your invitation, and we will tell you honestly whether the runway is workable.
Schools interpret the same criteria differently
Most programmes grade on the same dimensions, reduction, taper, margin design, smoothness, resistance and retention form and adjacent tooth protection, but they weigh them differently and some expect a particular margin design.
Bring whatever your programme has given you. Feedback on your submissions is given against those expectations wherever the programme has published them, and against standard US criteria otherwise. Our school-by-school list is the starting point for what to confirm.
The seven days, in order
Every day follows the same shape: a live demonstration from Dr. Kaur, your own guided attempt, then practice guidance before the next session. Take extra days between them whenever you need to.
If the group needs it, a revision and doubt-clearing session is run at the end of the seven days.
What is taught in each preparation
Open any preparation to see what is graded in it. Each unit is taught in bench test format: outline, depth, finish line, taper, then the grading criteria.
Class II amalgam preparationsmolars and premolars
Taught across the first three days on a mandibular molar, a maxillary molar and a premolar, because the same preparation behaves differently on each and schools set all three.
Class II and III composite preparationsconservative design
Covered on day seven alongside the bridge, with a direct comparison against the amalgam preparations you have already cut.
Full gold crownthe first crown you cut
Gold is less forgiving on margin placement than it looks, and it is the cleanest way to learn reduction and taper before porcelain adds its own demands.
PFM crownthe most commonly set crown
The preparation schools report most often. The transitions are where candidates lose marks, because the finish line has to stay readable all the way round.
All-ceramic crownreduction with no hiding places
Uniform reduction and rounded internal geometry, judged on consistency rather than on one good surface.
Bridge preparationtwo abutments, one path
The exercise where chasing a perfect parallel look produces walls too parallel to pass. Taught last, for that reason.
Three phases, start to finish
Live instruction, then a practice week with unlimited evaluations, then a competency exam.
What we provide, and what you supply
Study materials and checklists come with the course. The armamentarium is yours to arrange, and it is worth doing early.
Study materials and checklistsEverything you study from, including the criteria sheets you will be marked against, is provided when you enrol.
Handpieces and bursPractise with the set you will actually take to the exam. A different bur changes your feel, your reference points and your timing.
A typodont and mounted teethIf a programme names a specific typodont, use that one. Mount it the way the exam mounts it, because access changes the exercise.
A mounting poleFixed position practice is the point. A preparation that is comfortable at your own angle can be noticeably harder when the position is set for you.
Your checklist before the first session
What this course does not cover
Said plainly, so nobody enrols expecting something that is not there.
Wax-ups and wax carvingWe do not teach wax carving or morphology wax-ups. Some programmes do set them, and that practice sits with you.
Temporary crown fabricationNot taught here either. If your school includes a temporary, build separate practice time for it and practise under time more than once.
Restorative stepsThe course is preparations only, because that is what bench tests score.
Faculty
Dr. Kaur
Faculty at The Study Boards and a US bench test specialist, who has prepared internationally trained dentists for bench examinations at US and Canadian programmes. Her position is simple: every programme grades a little differently, so confidence comes from a structured sequence plus deliberate practice, not from volume.
The wider bench
Teaching runs alongside Dr. Stevenson, Dr. Trehan and Dr. Duggan, so the feedback you get on a preparation is not one person’s eye alone. Submissions are reviewed by US-licensed faculty.
What it costs
$1,100, one fee, everything above included
Seven live days with Dr. Kaur, individual feedback on every preparation you submit, a practice week with unlimited evaluations, the competency exam and your certificates. Additional evaluations after the course are available for an extra charge.
Working with us on your application as well? The CAAPID Application Blueprint at $1,800 is a separate programme covering the application itself, and this bench test course is bought separately. If you are deciding between them, message the team and we will tell you which one your profile needs first.
Course page, with the current cohort arrangements: Mastering Bench Test Preparation with Dr. Kaur.
Frequently asked questions
Is the course focused only on preparations?
Is the schedule rigid?
What do I need to bring?
Is there a limit on evaluations?
Do I receive a certificate?
Can I request more evaluations after the course ends?
Will this prepare me for my specific school?
I have an interview in a few weeks. Is it too late?
The rest of the bench test guides
Not sure this is the right course for you?
Tell us your interview date, the schools on your list and the exercises they have set. Our Admin Team with Dr. T and Dr. Kaur will contact you over WhatsApp and give you a straight answer about what you need.
Last reviewed 6 October 2026. Course structure, inclusions and price are from The Study Boards own course and pricing pages. Bench test exercises vary by programme and schools change them, so always confirm what your own programme sets after your invitation arrives.