There is considerable overlap between questions that are asked in medical school interviews and dental school interviews. You will be asked questions about motivation for a career in dentistry, critique of your work experience, questions about the regulation of dentists and the practice of dentistry in the UK.

However, there are significant differences that you need to be aware of and prepare for. As you are aware a large number of dentists operate on a private basis in the UK outside the NHS. Therefore, questions about charging patients are more frequent in dental interviews. In addition, they are more likely to test your manual dexterity and critical thinking skills.

Here are some up to date dental school interview questions. Also revise from the medical school interview questions (especial those relating to motivation, leadership, choice of university for example) as the topics are likely to be identical.

• You are a dentist starting work in a new NHS dental practice in an inner-city area. You notice that most of your patients have not seen a dentist in their lifetime and present with multiple dental problems. Why do you think this might be the case?

• [Role Play] You are removing a diseased tooth from one of your dental patients. However, during the procedure you inadvertently dislodge a healthy tooth. Explain this to the patient.

• One of your dental colleagues in the practice in known to try and overcharge patients. What issues does this raise?

• You are treating a patient who has come to you to treat his dental injuries following an assault. The police arrive at the dental practice asking for his records. What do you do?

• Why are you applying for dentistry and not to medical school?

• As you are aware manual dexterity is a critical skill that dentists need to master. How do we know that you will be able to do this?

• One of your dental colleagues is seeing patients who need dental appliances. A child has come in who has deliberately stood on his appliance breaking it. You heard loud voices from the consulting room. What do you do?

• You notice that one of your dental colleagues from the practice has posted a photo from what appears to be a social gathering in which the colleague appears intoxicated. He posts it on the practice social media page. It appears to be very popular with the public. How do you respond?

• What do you know about the dental curriculum and how we teach at this dental school?

• Dentistry has a scientific and practical element but also a caring element. Can you give me an example where you have seen the caring side of dentistry?

• A patient comes to you in your NHS clinic indicating that they are not happy with the appearance of their teeth. They have no problems with eating or chewing. Should the patient pay for treatment for this problem?

• We have a shortage of NHS dentists in the UK. The government proposes that all students who qualify in the UK should work for the NHS for a period of 10 years as a way of giving back to society for funding university studies. Do you agree with this proposal?

Do you have a dentistry interview coming up? Come to our Dental School Interview Course. Designed with dentists and delivered by university tutors. We cover manual dexterity, critical thinking, motivation, dental standards and much more. Click here to learn more and book your place.

The photos below are from previous interview courses (pre-COVID).