1

The Official DATCrusher Manual

Specifically for the Canadian DAT

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 2

Introduction
Congratulations on making it this far in your academic career! You’re so close to achieving your dreams
of getting into dental school! Now the only thing in your way is conquering the Canadian DAT. But don’t
worry; we’ve got you covered. ☺

The Canadian DAT will be one of the most challenging exams that you will have come across up to this
point in your academic career. This is partly because it consists of a variety of disciplines, some of which
are ones that you most likely never seen before in your formal education. But don’t worry; just by
reading this manual you’ll have an advantage. Having been in your shoes before, I understand the
frustration and anxiety that often comes along with preparing for the Canadian DAT. There is little to no
preparation material aimed for Canadian students as all major DAT preparation resources are aimed
specifically for the American DAT. That’s why DATCrusher was created; to provide thousands of Canadian
students the knowledge and expertise necessary to achieve an amazing score on the Canadian DAT.

My team and I have created this manual to help you succeed. Everything that you find here is a result of
our years of studying the Canadian DAT, our personal experience with writing the Canadian DAT, and all
of the end-of-cycle feedback that we continually receive from our amazing Canadian pre-dental students.

Who am I?
My name is Shahed, and I am a prosthodontics resident at the University of Tennessee. I completed my
dental training from the University of Alberta School of Dentistry and created DATCrusher with my team
of dentist and software developers when we noticed how there was little to no resources available
specifically for the Canadian DAT. It’s been a long journey since we first started and we have
tremendously grown the size of our team since then. At the end of every cycle, my and team and I work
hard to improve DATCrusher for our thousands of student’s nation-wide. As a result of our team’s hard
work, today DATCrusher is now the most popular Canadian DAT resource in Canada. We take pride
that we have built DATCrusher to be very representative of the Canadian over the years.

If you ever have any questions, just know that I along with the rest of the DATCrusher team will always be
here to help you succeed and that you can always reach out to us at any time. ☺

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 3

Table of Contents
1. Important Information about the Canadian DAT…….………………………….. Page 4
2. When should you write the DAT? ………………………………………………… Page 5
3. Registering for the Canadian DAT.………………………………………..……… Page 6
4. Overview of the Canadian DAT..………………………………………..………… Page 6
5. Required Resources..……………………..……………………………..…………. Page 7
6. How to prepare for each section………………………………………..………… Page 8
I. Manual Dexterity Test..…………………………………………..………….. Page 8

II. Natural Sciences..………………….……………………………..…………. Page 9

III. Perceptual Ability..………………………………………………..………… Page 10
IV. Reading Comprehension..…………………………………...……..…….. Page 11

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 4

1. Important information about the Canadian DAT

To start, the Canadian DAT is a DIFFERENT exam than the American DAT. Both exams are administered
by different organizations and have different types of questions, different formats, and cover different
topics. Therefore, I HIGHLY recommend that you avoid using American DAT resources, and if you do,
use them with EXTREME caution. For example, the reading comprehension tests on American resources
are made to be taken within 60 minutes for the American DAT, however, you are only given 50 minutes
for the Canadian DAT. Therefore, you will be wasting valuable time practicing under different time
constraints, memorizing unnecessary information/formulas, or learning inefficient techniques for the PAT
that you don’t need for the Canadian DAT. And we all know that time is precious during the school year
since that time could be put towards better use such as studying for courses.

Furthermore, the Canadian DAT is only offered TWICE a year (once in November and once in February).
There is limited seating in each city across Canada and these seats fill up fast especially for the
November DAT, so register as soon you can. And your scores for the Canadian DAT EXPIRE after 2-3
years for most Canadian dental schools, so you should plan accordingly. If your scores expire, you MUST
rewrite the DAT in order to apply to dental schools again.

Lastly, most Canadian Dental schools look at your BEST or MOST RECENT scores from a given time-
period of 2-3 years. Yes, you read that right. That means you can write the DAT as many times as you
want without being penalized by Canadian Dental Schools. Fun fact, I know someone who wrote the
DAT six times and did well on his last attempt. He’ll soon be graduating from the Oral & Maxillofacial
Surgery residency program at the University of Toronto School of Dentistry.

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 5

2. When should you write the DAT?

The Canadian DAT is an exam that anyone can sign-up and write at any point in life if they wish to
pursue dental school in Canada. However, although the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) has not
outlined any concrete requirements for students prior to writing the DAT, most students should ideally
write the Canadian DAT during the 2nd or 3rd years of university. There are a few reasons behind this:

1.You would have covered your core Biology and Chemistry courses by now
2.Your knowledge of the basic sciences is still relatively fresh
3.It would allow extra re-write opportunities before graduating (if necessary)

That being said, many people take the DAT at different stages of life and still do exceptionally well. So
don’t be discouraged, it’s never too late to chase your dreams.
Should you write the DAT in November or February?

Unfortunately, both days fall in the middle of the Academic semester, which usually means students end
up juggling classes with studying for the DAT. With that said, you may not think there is much of a
difference between these dates. However, there are significant advantages/disadvantages between
writing the DAT in November versus February.

If you choose to write the Canadian DAT in February: you will have the advantage of writing
the DAT during the end of reading week (This applies to most Canadian Universities).
Furthermore, writing the DAT in February will allow you to rewrite the Canadian DAT in
November just in time for the upcoming admission cycles. And lastly, most students tend to
score better on the February DAT versus the November DAT.

If you choose to write the Canadian DAT in November: you will have the advantage of
preparing for the Canadian DAT during the 4 months in the summer from May to August. This is
big advantage! And is why most students write the Canadian DAT in November. Also, if you do
write the Canadian DAT in November, you will be able to use the scores for that current year’s
admission cycle.

IMPORTANT: For the 2021 cycle, we recommend taking the May/June DAT due to the uncertainty on
whether the DAT will be administered in November. If the November DAT is pushed back, it may not be
able to apply for the 2021-2022 cycle.

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 6

3. Registering for the Canadian DAT

As of August 2020, the Canadian DAT is required to gain admission into ALL Canadian Dental Schools.
The only exception is McGill University which will not require it for the 2020-2021 application cycle in
light of public health concerns regarding COVID-19.

Normally, the Canadian DAT is offered only twice a year. However, for the 2020-2021 application cycle,
there will be multiple dates available for the November DAT (November 23-26th, 2020) and the February
DAT (Feb 16-18th, 2021) due to public health concerns regarding COVID-19. Keep in mind, seating is
limited in every city, so we highly recommend that you register early or you will have to fly to another
province/city to write the DAT. To register for the Canadian DAT, use the link below:

https://www.cda-adc.ca/en/becoming/dat/register_dat/

4. Overview of the Canadian DAT

The Canadian DAT is broken into FOUR sections. Here is a summary of each section:

Section Number of Questions Time (minutes)

Manual Dexterity (optional) 1 30 minutes

Break 30 minutes*

Natural Sciences (Biology + Chemistry) 70 60 minutes

Break 15 minutes*

Perceptual Ability 90 60 minutes

Break 15 minutes*

Reading Comprehension 50 50 minutes

*Time is approximated but can be delayed due to time required to set up, returning from break, student questions,
facility check, or instructions per section. Therefore, some sections may not start on time but you will still be given
the full-amount of time for each section

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 7

5. Required Resources
The following are all of the resources that you need to do well on the Canadian DAT:

1. DATCrusher Premium Membership $319 USD (Mandatory)

● The most representative resource for the Canadian DAT. It includes 4020+ high-yield
practice questions, UNLIMITED printable PAT questions, in-depth soap carving videos, PAT
generators and analyzers, detailed solutions with built-in 3D models, and much more
features created specifically for the Canadian DAT.
● Includes an integrated PATBooster Membership worth $125 USD.

2. Chad’s Videos $0 USD (Optional)

● An amazing resource to learn basic chemistry concepts without having to go into too much
depth. These are available in the DATCrusher study schedule.

3. RockTheDAT $400 CAD (Optional)

● This is a two-day in-person course that includes a mock practice test and instructors that
will help you prepare for the soap carving section one-on-one.

4. DATDestroyer $149 USD (Optional)

● Great resource for extra practice (only American resource we recommend).

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 8

6. How to prepare for each section

To gain admission into dental schools in Canada, you should aim to score at least 20+ in every section
of the Canadian DAT. If you can do this, you will have a competitive DAT score for every dental school in
Canada. In order to get a high score, it simply comes down to the amount of time you invest in studying
and practicing test questions. But since the Canadian DAT is only offered during the school semesters,
your time will be spent between balancing regular classes and studying for the Canadian DAT. This is
why we recommend you choose your resources wisely and always try to use resources aimed for the
Canadian DAT.

On the next few pages, we will go over each section in detail and show you how to approach each
section so that you gain a better understanding of the Canadian DAT.

I. Manual Dexterity Test

This section is also known as the “soap carving” section. In this section, you are required to carve a
specified model out of a cylindrical bar of soap within 30 minutes. This section was initially created to
assess a student’s skill in performing tasks that require precision as the profession depends on it. As of
right now, if you are interested in gaining admission into dental program at the University of Alberta, or
Université Laval, or McGill University, or the University of Toronto after 2022, you MUST take this
section.

How do you prepare for this section?

Start by carving a soap to see where you stand. Then watch all of DATCrusher’s soap carving videos to
learn the proper techniques and try re-enacting each step of the video as you go along. After watching
the video series, it’s recommended that you carve a soap every day under timed conditions (ideally in the
morning like the real DAT) and evaluate yourself using the official grading rubric. Continue to do this
until the day of the Canadian DAT. If you run out of soaps to carve, try to use the soaps that you’ve
already carved under untimed conditions in order to further improve your manual dexterity skills.

Recommended Resources:

● DATCrusher Soap Carving videos (Highly recommended): A series of in-depth soap carving
videos that show in detail how to carve a perfect soap in order to score a 30.
● RockTheDAT Course (Optional): In-person course with dental students from the University of
Alberta that will show you have to carve a perfect soap.

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 9

II. Survey of the Natural Sciences (SNS)

The section is composed of TWO parts: Biology and General Chemistry. You will be given a total of 60
minutes to complete 70 multiple-choice questions, with the first 40 pertaining to Biology and the last 30
pertaining to General Chemistry. So that means, you can spend more time on Biology questions and
less time on Chemistry questions or vice versa as long as you complete the questions within 60 minutes.
For a complete breakdown of all of the topics that can be tested on the SNS section of the Canadian
DAT, use the link below:

http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/becoming/dat/information/

How do you prepare for this section?

For the Biology section, review all of Feralis-Booster Biology Notes and watch the Biology Video series
on DATCrusher at least once before attempting practice tests. While reviewing the Feralis notes, try to
understand the concepts but also prioritize memorizing the main information for each topic without
going into too much detail.

For the Chemistry section, be sure to review the DATCrusher notes and video series prior to completing
all of the practice tests. Keep in mind, the questions on the Canadian DAT will be straightforward like the
DATCrusher practice tests. Therefore, it’s important to prioritize understanding the general chemistry
concepts and learning how to solve all of the basic chemistry problems.

Important: Be sure to take advantage of the Mark Learning system on DATCrusher as it will help you
review all of the questions you marked throughout your study period. Furthermore, tru to a few hours
reviewing the questions that you got wrong as those questions could show up on your DAT.

Recommended Resources:

● DATCrusher Practice Tests (Highly recommended): These are the most high-yield practice questions
available for the Canadian DAT and contains questions similar to what you will encounter on the real
DAT. High-yield questions that have historical shown up on the Canadian DAT are also pointed out
within the practice tests.
● Feralis-Booster Biology Notes (Highly recommended): High-yield notes created specifically for the
DAT and are available for free online. These notes will help guide you on areas to focus on and give
you an idea of what can show up on the DAT.
● DATCrusher Chemistry Notes (Highly recommended): Included with your DATCrusher subscription
and contains everything that you need for the Chemistry section.
● DATCrusher Biology and Chemistry Video Series (Highly recommended): These video series are
created by our team and contain key information for the Canadian DAT.
● DATDestroyer (Optional): This is an amazing resource and it’s the only American DAT that I would
recommend as it helps you prepare well with tons of extra question.

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 10

III. Perceptual Ability Test

This section has been designed to test a student’s ability to mentally visualize, analyze, and manipulate
2D representations of 3D objects. The PAT is composed of 6 subsections, each with their own set of rules
and objectives. The subsections are as follows:

1. Apertures / Keyholes
2. Top-Front-End
3. Angle-Ranking
4. Hole-Punching
5. Cube-Counting
6. Pattern Folding

How do you prepare for this section?

This section is all about practice and developing strategies. Start by figuring out the sections that you are
strong in and try improving your accuracy and time so that you are able to finish these sections within 10
minutes each. Ideally you want to spend MAXIMUM 10 minutes per section. In fact, the biggest mistake
students make here is poor time management.

For the sections that you are weak in, try practicing as many problems as you can using generators and
practice tests. And if you don’t understand the correct answer or get stuck, keep trying to answer that
question in your spare time without timing yourself until you understand the correct answer. This is how
you develop perceptual ability skills. Remember, you want to develop natural perceptual ability skills to
answer these questions on your own for the real Canadian DAT. At the end, this section is all about
practice.

Recommended Resources:

● DATCrusher Practice Tests (Highly recommended): These practice tests mimic the same difficulty
of the Canadian DAT and have similar types of questions that have shown up on the Canadian DAT
in the past.
● DATCrusher Printable PAT Generators (Highly recommended): Allow you to print UNLIMITED
PAT questions on paper so that you can practice questions just like the real Canadian DAT. These are
included in your DATCrusher subscription.
● PATBooster PAT Analyzers (Highly recommended): Analyzes your performance while you practice
and will pinpoint the exact types of questions that you’re weak in.
● PATBooster Advanced Online PAT Generators (Highly recommended): These generators allow
your to customize the way you practice by allowing you to train specific types of questions that you
are weak in (ex. Obtuse or Acute angles).

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM

 11

IV. Reading Comprehension

In this section, you will have 50 minutes to read 3 passages and complete 12-20 questions per
passage for a total of 50 questions. The goal of the reading comprehension test is to assess the
student’s ability to not only read the passages efficiently, but to analyze and comprehend the information
contained within the passage. Although the passages themselves can vary in topic, most of the material
seen on the test will be related to science to some extent and will require no prior understanding of the
topic itself. Furthermore, everything that is needed to answer the questions will appear either explicitly
or implicitly in the passage.

There are many different strategies and approaches for this section but before deciding which one to
use, it is worthwhile to learn the types of questions that you may encounter:

1. Recall Questions: These types of questions concern statements found directly in the passage and
they test your memory rather than your comprehension skills.

2. Tone Questions: These types of questions are less common, and they test your ability to gauge
the author’s bias towards the specific topic, whether positive or negative. Such biases are often
implied rather than directly stated within the passage.

3. Inference Questions: Similar to tone questions, inference questions do not test your knowledge
on content directly within the passage, but instead they test your ability to draw conclusions based
on certain statements.

4. Overarching Questions: These questions test your understanding of the passage as a whole
rather than specific parts (ex. determine the conclusion or main point of the passage)

It was not too long ago when the reading comprehension section of the Canadian DAT was composed
primarily of recall questions. In recent years however, the DAT has changed to include a few more
comprehension type questions such as tone and inference questions.

At the end of the day, the reading comprehension section is the most variable of the section of the
Canadian DAT as you never know what topic and types of questions you will end up getting on exam
day. And just like all the other sections, the time limit is what makes this section difficult for students and
so the key to success is to increase your speed while maintaining your understanding of the passage.

Recommended Resources:

● DATCrusher Practice Tests (Highly recommended): These practice tests are the same difficulty of
the Canadian DAT and have similar types of questions / topics that have shown up on the Canadian
DAT in the past.

2021 Edition DATCrusher | Booster PrepTM