Queen’s University Belfast Dentistry Interview Questions 2026 (MMI Guide)
Introduction – Why the QUB Dentistry interview matters
Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) runs one of the UK’s most highly regarded Dentistry programmes, with strong rankings in major league tables and a reputation for early clinical experience and tight‑knit teaching teams.
Competition is intense: there are only around 45 Home/ROI places and 15 International places each year on the BDS A200 course, so the interview is a major hurdle.
For 2026 entry, Queen’s uses a two‑stage selection process:
Stage 1 – cognitive performance (your academics + UCAT, for Home/ROI applicants)
Stage 2 – interview (MMI‑style) assessing your non‑academic qualities such as empathy, resilience and professionalism.
Once you reach Stage 2, offers are based solely on your interview ranking, as set out in the official 2026 Dentistry Admissions Policy.
This guide focuses on that second stage – but we’ll start with how you actually get an interview in the first place.
How Queen’s decides who to invite for a Dentistry interview (2026 entry)
The 2026 Admission Policy Statement for Dentistry is the key official document that explains the process – Queen’s specifically directs applicants to it from their Dentistry “How to Apply” page.
1️⃣ Stage 1: Cognitive ability (shortlisting)
All applications must be submitted through UCAS by 15 October 2025 at 18:00 (UK time) for 2026 entry, and Home/ROI applicants must take the UCAT in the summer before applying.
Queen’s then creates a pre‑interview score out of 45 for each eligible applicant:
Up to 36 points – academic record
For school‑leavers, this is mainly based on your best 9 GCSEs scored using a points system (e.g. 9/A* = 4 points, 7–8/A = 3, 6/B = 2, 4–5/C = 1).
Equivalent scoring systems are used for other qualifications (Junior Certificate, Scottish Highers, etc.).
Up to 9 points – UCAT overall score (Home/ROI only)
From 2026 entry, QUB uses the overall score across three UCAT sections only: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning – Abstract Reasoning is no longer included.
You’re placed into a UCAT decile band (≤10th, >10–20th, …, >90–100th), each worth 0–9 points. Higher decile = more points.
The combined GCSE/academic + UCAT score is then used to rank applicants, and a threshold is set each year depending on competition. Past thresholds have ranged from around 28 to 38 points, with recent cycles usually in the low‑to‑mid 30s or higher.
🔵 Key idea: there is no fixed UCAT “cut‑off” on its own – instead, UCAT and academics are blended into a single pre‑interview score.
2️⃣ Widening participation and contextual routes
Queen’s has several schemes designed to widen access to Dentistry:
BTpostcode school‑leavers (Northern Ireland secondary schools) – shortlisting emphasises AS‑level grades + UCAT + predicted A‑levels rather than GCSEs.
Pathway Opportunity Programme (POP – Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences pathway)
Students follow a structured programme in Years 13–14, including a summer school.
Successful students receive a guaranteed interview and may receive a contextual offer one A‑level grade below the standard AAA.
Other POP pathways – successful completion in any subject area plus meeting academic requirements also gives a guaranteed Dentistry interview.
If you’re eligible, these can massively improve your chances of making it to interview.
3️⃣ International applicants (non‑Home fee status)
For International / EU (non‑ROI) applicants:
UCAT is not required, and it is not used in their selection.
Applications are considered holistically (no fixed scoring system) using:
Academic record and predicted grades
English language qualifications
Reference
Personal statement and evidence of commitment to Dentistry
Again, these applicants are shortlisted to a pool for interview – but via a more holistic review rather than the rigid 45‑point scheme.
Queen’s Dentistry interview format for 2026 entry
In brief
According to the 2026 Admissions Policy and QUB’s Dentistry MMI information:
Interview type: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
Stage 2 focus: “non‑cognitive abilities” – who you are, not just your grades
Delivery:
Home fee (UK/ROI) – in‑person MMIs in Belfast
International / EU (non‑ROI) – online MMI, usually via video platform
Decision‑making:
Interview scores create a rank order.
Offers are made purely by interview ranking – Stage 1 scores don’t contribute once you’re in the room.
What is an MMI?
An MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) is a circuit of short “stations”. At each station you might:
Answer specific scenario questions
Role‑play with an actor or interviewer
Interpret data or information
Reflect on your experiences or ethical dilemmas
Each station is scored separately against set criteria, and your total score across all stations determines your ranking.
Competencies assessed at QUB
QUB explicitly lists the non‑academic qualities its Dentistry interview is designed to test:
Resilience
Maturity and responsibility
Interpersonal and communication skills
Confidence
Self‑awareness
Empathy
Ethical and moral values
Professionalism and integrity
Awareness of the demands of training as a dental surgeon
Most stations you encounter will be a vehicle to assess one or more of these.
Station structure (what it’s like in practice)
QUB doesn’t publish a fixed number of stations, but from:
Official MMI guidance for the School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, and
Applicant reports and interview‑prep analyses
…you can reasonably expect:
A circuit of multiple short stations (often ~5 minutes each)
A mix of role‑play, scenario discussion, structured questions, and possibly simple data/graph interpretation
Each station with its own assessor and mark scheme
Total interview time typically well under an hour
Your official invitation email will confirm exact timings, number of stations and whether any preparation (e.g. a pre‑reading task) is needed.
When are Queen’s Dentistry interviews held?
QUB doesn’t post exact yearly dates far in advance, but multiple sources (including QUB’s own guidance as summarised in official‑based prep guides) indicate that Dentistry interviews for 2026 entry will typically be held:
From mid‑December through to March in the application cycle
Mostly on specific interview days or blocks (often in January–February)
Applicants on forums in recent cycles describe interview dates spread across December, January and February, with some later sessions for international candidates.
Practical tip: treat December–March as your core preparation window, but assume interview invites can arrive from late November onwards.
What topics are covered in a QUB Dentistry interview?
Drawing from QUB’s stated competencies, School MMI guidance and UK Dentistry MMI advice, you should be ready for stations in the following areas:
🟢 Motivation and insight
Why Dentistry (not Medicine or another healthcare profession)?
Why Queen’s / Belfast specifically?
Understanding of the BDS course structure, early clinical exposure and life in Belfast.
🟣 Empathy & communication
Explaining a diagnosis or procedure in simple language
Dealing with an anxious or angry patient
Breaking minor “bad news” (e.g. treatment delays, costs).
🟠 Ethics & professionalism
Consent and confidentiality in dental practice
Social media use as a dental student
Handling mistakes and near‑misses
Balancing patient autonomy with best practice.
🔵 Resilience & self‑awareness
Coping with academic pressure and setbacks
Reflecting on constructive criticism
Managing stress and maintaining wellbeing.
🟡 Teamwork & leadership
Working with the wider dental team (nurses, therapists, technicians)
Managing conflict in a clinical or student group scenario.
🟤 Awareness of dental training & the profession
The pathway from BDS student to GDC‑registered dentist
NHS vs private practice issues
Access to dentistry and oral health inequalities, particularly in Northern Ireland.
⚪ Data interpretation & problem‑solving
Simple graphs or charts related to oral health statistics
Interpreting appointment data or screening figures and drawing sensible conclusions.
🧵 Manual dexterity & practical thinking (sometimes)
Discussing activities that show hand–eye coordination and fine motor skills
Occasionally simple non‑clinical tasks that show planning, care and steadiness.
How many applicants get a Dentistry interview or offer at Queen’s?
Queen’s hasn’t published exact numbers of interviews, but an official Freedom of Information (FOI) response provides recent statistics on applications and offers:
For BDS Dentistry:
2020 cycle: 354 applications, 116 offers
2021 cycle: 405 applications, 80 offers
2022 cycle: 458 applications, 70 offers
QUB also confirmed in that FOI that it does not systematically record the number of interview invitations in its student information system, so it can’t provide precise interview figures.
From these numbers:
Roughly 15–33% of applicants received an offer over those cycles (with the trend becoming more competitive).
Given that many UK dental schools interview around 2–3 candidates per place and then offer to about one‑third to one‑half of interviewees, you can infer that interview performance is critical.
Remember there are around 60 total BDS places (45 Home/ROI, 15 International) each year at Queen’s.
Example QUB‑style Dentistry MMI stations & questions (60+)
These are original practice questions designed to reflect QUB’s competencies and the typical MMI style used in UK dental schools. They’re not official or leaked stations, but are consistent with the themes Queen’s publishes and students describe.
Use them to practise timed responses (about 4–6 minutes per station).
1. Motivation & “Why Dentistry at Queen’s?” 🏫
Why do you want to study Dentistry rather than Medicine, Nursing or another healthcare role?
What specifically attracts you to studying Dentistry at Queen’s University Belfast?
How have you explored Dentistry to make sure it is the right career for you?
If Dentistry disappeared tomorrow, what alternative path would you follow and why?
What do you think will be the most rewarding and the most challenging aspects of a career in Dentistry?
How do you see the role of a dentist in the community in Northern Ireland?
2. Empathy & communication 🤝
A patient arrives visibly anxious about having a tooth extracted. How would you communicate with them before the procedure?
Explain to a 10‑year‑old child why regular brushing and dental check‑ups are important.
You’re a first‑year student on clinic and a patient complains that they have been waiting too long. How would you respond?
Describe a time you had to communicate something complex in simple terms. What did you learn?
A friend tells you they are terrified of the dentist and haven’t attended in years. How would you encourage them without being pushy?
3. Ethics & professionalism ⚖️
You see a fellow dental student post a video from clinic on social media where a patient’s face is visible. What should you do?
A patient insists on a cosmetic treatment you feel is not clinically justified. How should a dentist respond?
How should a dental student react if they realise, after a session, that they may have made a minor error in treatment?
Discuss the ethical issues if a patient refuses a treatment you believe is in their best interests.
What does “fitness to practise” mean in Dentistry, and why is it important for students as well as qualified dentists?
4. Resilience, maturity & self‑awareness 🌱
Tell us about a significant setback you’ve faced. How did you deal with it, and what would you do differently now?
Imagine you fail an important exam in first year at Queen’s. Talk us through how you would respond over the following week.
How do you look after your own wellbeing when under sustained pressure (for example during exams)?
Describe a time when you received constructive criticism. How did you react, and what changed afterwards?
Dental training can involve seeing distressing cases. How might you manage the emotional impact while staying professional?
5. Teamwork & leadership 👥
Describe a time you worked in a team where not everyone contributed equally. What did you do?
In the dental clinic, how might conflict arise between members of the dental team, and how should it be managed?
What qualities make someone an effective leader in a healthcare setting?
Imagine you’re leading a small student project group and one member consistently misses meetings. How would you handle it?
How have you shown that you can both lead and follow, depending on the situation?
6. Awareness of dental training & the profession 🦷
Outline the training pathway from starting BDS at Queen’s to becoming an independent general dental practitioner in the UK.
What do you know about the role of the General Dental Council (GDC)?
What are some key differences between working in NHS Dentistry and private Dentistry?
Why do you think there are concerns about access to NHS Dentistry in parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland?
What areas of Dentistry might you consider specialising in in the future, and why?
7. Scenario & role‑play stations 🎭
Role‑play: You are a dental student. A patient complains that the previous student “hurt them” and they are worried it will happen again. Speak to the patient.
Role‑play: You are paired with a colleague who repeatedly turns up late for clinic, leaving you to prepare the surgery. Talk to them about this.
You’re working part‑time at a shop. A colleague is taking small items without paying. What steps should you take?
A neighbour asks you for dental advice once they hear you’ve started Dentistry. At what point does giving advice become unprofessional?
Describe how you would handle a situation where a patient becomes upset after being told they need multiple fillings.
8. Data interpretation & problem‑solving 📊
You’re shown a bar chart comparing rates of tooth decay in different age groups in Northern Ireland vs the UK average. What might you conclude, and what factors could explain the differences?
Appointment data show that missed appointments increased after the practice introduced online booking only. What possible explanations and solutions can you suggest?
You are given a leaflet about sugar intake and caries risk. How would you explain the key points to a teenager?
A practice is considering extending opening hours but has limited staff. Outline how you might approach deciding whether this is sensible.
You are given statistics showing lower attendance rates among certain socioeconomic groups. What does this tell you and how might a practice respond?
9. Manual dexterity & practical thinking 👐
What activities do you currently do that demonstrate good manual dexterity or fine motor skills?
Explain why manual dexterity is important in Dentistry, beyond simply “being good with your hands”.
If you had to design a new hobby to develop skills for Dentistry, what would it be and why?
You’re asked to assemble a simple model under time pressure. How would you stay calm and methodical?
Describe a situation where attention to detail was crucial. How did you ensure accuracy?
10. Insight into healthcare, ethics & the wider NHS 🏥
What do you see as the main challenges currently facing NHS Dentistry?
Is it ever fair to refuse to treat a patient if they repeatedly miss appointments? Why or why not?
Discuss some ways dentists can help reduce oral health inequalities in their communities.
How did the COVID‑19 pandemic impact Dentistry, and what lasting changes might remain?
Should cosmetic dental treatments (e.g. whitening) ever be funded by the NHS? Explain your reasoning.
11. Personal attributes & reflection 💬
Which of QUB’s listed attributes (e.g. resilience, empathy, professionalism) do you feel is your strongest, and which needs most development?
Tell us about an activity outside school that has shaped you as a person and will make you a better dental student.
What does “professionalism” look like for a first‑year dental student on social media?
Describe a situation where you had to admit you were wrong. What did you learn?
How would your friends describe you in three words, and how would your teachers describe you in three words?
12. Quick‑fire / wrap‑up stations ⚡
Give one example of a time you showed empathy.
Tell us about a dentist or health professional who impressed you and why.
What one change would you like to see in UK Dentistry over the next decade?
If we could only remember one thing about you at the end of this circuit, what should it be and why?
When are offers for QUB Dentistry released?
Queen’s doesn’t give exact BDS offer dates on its Dentistry pages, but we can piece together the pattern from:
UCAS provider decision deadlines, and
Applicant reports in recent QUB Dentistry threads.
Key points:
UCAS sets a “reject by default” deadline in mid‑May for universities to make decisions on applications submitted by the main January deadline; in practice, Medicine/Dentistry decisions are usually made well before this.
On The Student Room, QUB Dentistry applicants describe:
Early offers arriving from December onwards for some candidates
Further offers released in batches through the spring
Emails noting that more offers may come out up to a mid‑May deadline, with some candidates effectively on a waiting list.
So, for 2026 entry you should realistically expect:
Offer window: roughly late December – mid May, depending on your interview date and how competitive the cohort is.
Queen’s aims to release decisions in time for you to attend Offer Holder Days in spring and make informed UCAS choices.
Student comments & impressions of the QUB Dentistry interview
While QUB doesn’t publish detailed written accounts of the interview itself, there are several sources of insight:
The Dentistry MMIs page on the official QUB website includes video testimony from recent dental graduates, who emphasise the School’s supportive, close‑knit environment and approachable staff.
On student forums, applicants often describe the Dentistry MMIs as:
Structured but friendly, with assessors trying to help you show your strengths
Strong focus on ethical scenarios, communication and empathy
Time‑pressured – several students comment that stations felt very short, so clear structure helps.
Interview‑prep organisations summarising feedback from QUB applicants highlight that:
Stations are mapped closely to QUB’s non‑cognitive competencies (resilience, professionalism, empathy, etc.).
A clear marking rubric is used at each station, so consistency and fairness are prioritised.
Takeaway: if you know the competencies and practise structured answers, the process is demanding but predictable and fair.
Top tips for smashing the Queen’s Dentistry interview 💡
Here are practical, QUB‑specific tips for sixth‑formers aiming at 2026 entry:
Know the official Admissions Policy
Read the 2026 Dentistry Admissions Policy PDF in full; highlight the selection stages and competencies. If you mention something from it in your answers, it shows you’ve done your homework.
Build answers around QUB’s competencies
For every practice question, ask: Which of resilience, empathy, communication, professionalism, self‑awareness, etc., am I demonstrating? Explicitly signpost them in your answers.
Use simple, structured frameworks
For scenario questions, try SPIES (Seek information, Patient safety, Initiative, Escalate, Support) or ABCDE (Acknowledge, Be calm, Clarify, Discuss options, End with plan).
For experience‑based questions, use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection).
Prepare real, reflective examples
Go beyond listing activities. Pick 3–4 strong experiences (work experience, volunteering, part‑time jobs, caring or family responsibilities, team roles) and practise deep reflections: what you learnt, what you’d do differently, and how it relates to Dentistry.
Understand Northern Ireland and oral health context
Read briefly about oral health inequalities and access to Dentistry in NI; this will help with data and ethics stations.
Practise under timed MMI conditions
Set a timer for 4–6 minutes per station.
Practise moving on confidently once time is up – you won’t be allowed to finish every thought in the real MMI.
For in‑person Belfast MMIs: plan logistics early
Check travel, accommodation and campus maps (e.g. Whitla Medical Building, Centre for Dentistry). Arriving calm and early makes a big difference.
For online MMIs (International applicants): rehearse your tech
Stable internet, quiet background, neutral wall, and test your microphone/camera beforehand.
Practise speaking to the camera so you still seem engaged and empathetic on screen.
Know the GDC principles and dental ethics basics
Review the GDC’s standards for the dental team and think how they apply to common MMI scenarios (consent, confidentiality, respect, candour).
Be honest about limits
If you don’t know something clinical, say so and show how you’d find out safely. They don’t expect dental knowledge – they expect good judgement.
Look after yourself during the process
Sleep, regular breaks, and fun alongside revision. Resilience is both an interview topic and something you genuinely need during the cycle.
Final thoughts
Getting to interview for Queen’s University Belfast Dentistry is already an achievement. From that point on, everyone in the room is academically strong – what will distinguish you is how well you demonstrate the qualities Queen’s has clearly set out: empathy, resilience, integrity, insight and a realistic understanding of Dentistry.
If you:
Understand how you were shortlisted,
Know how MMIs work,
Practise QUB‑style stations like those above, and
Reflect honestly on your own experiences,
…you’ll give yourself an excellent chance of turning your QUB Dentistry interview into an offer. 🦷✨
Good luck – and remember, they’re not looking for a finished dentist, just a trainable, thoughtful future colleague.
References & further reading
(All links accessed recently; always check for the latest versions.)
Queen’s University Belfast – Admission Policy Statement for Dentistry for 2026 Entry (PDF).Queen's University Belfast
Queen’s University Belfast – Dentistry BDS A200 Undergraduate Course Page.Queen's University Belfast
Queen’s University Belfast – Centre for Dentistry / Study Dentistry at Queen’s.Queen's University Belfast
Queen’s University Belfast – Dentistry “How to Apply” (including number of places).Queen's University Belfast
Queen’s University Belfast – Dentistry MMIs page (including student testimony videos).Queen's University Belfast
Dental Schools Council – Official site & entry‑requirements resources for UK dental schools.Dental Schools Council
BluePeanut Medical – Belfast Dental School Interview Questions (QUB) – 2026 Entry (summarises QUB’s admissions policy and MMI guidance).Blue Peanut Medical
