Belfast Dental School Interview Questions (Queen’s University Belfast) – 2026 Entry

👋 Introduction (Why QUB Dentistry stands out)

Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) runs a highly regarded BDS with competitive entry. For 2026, interviews remain central to selection—offers are made based solely on interview performance once you’ve been shortlisted. This guide pulls together the official QUB Admissions Policy for 2026 and current school pages, plus recent student comments, to help you prepare with precision. Queen's University Belfast

🎯 Ready to practise with clinicians? Book our Dental School Interview Course – designed by NHS academic dentists and orthodontists.
🧪 Want hot-seat MMI practice? Join our Mock Dentistry MMI Circuits.

How does Belfast decide who to invite to interview?

QUB runs a two-stage process:

• Stage 1 – Academic + UCAT (Home/ROI applicants): You’re ranked on your combined academic record and UCAT. From 2026 entry onward, QUB’s UCAT “overall score” excludes Abstract Reasoning and uses three sections (VR, DM, QR), awarding up to 9 points by UCAT decile. The SJT may be used as a tiebreaker at pre-interview and post-interview borders. 

• International applicants: Shortlisted holistically (no UCAT required) using academics, predicted grades, English proficiency, reference and personal statement. 

Places available: QUB states 45 Home/ROI and 15 International BDS places each cycle. 

How does Belfast interview for 2026 entry?

• Interview style: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI).

• Delivery in 2026: Home-fee applicants interview in Belfast; International applicants interview online.

• What’s assessed: resilience; maturity & responsibility; interpersonal & communication skills; confidence; self-awareness; empathy; ethical & moral values; professionalism & integrity; and awareness of the demands of dental training. 

What is the interview style actually like?

QUB uses station-based MMIs assessing non-cognitive competencies. The School shares sample MMI ideas (the examples are framed for the School of Medicine but reflect the same MMI approach and competencies used across the School, including Dentistry).

Expect role-play, ethical reasoning, structured Q&A and communication/problem-solving tasks. 

When are dentistry interviews held?

QUB indicates interviews typically run from mid-December to March in the cycle. 
Recent student chatter also suggests dates landing into late February for some cohorts. 

What topics are covered in a QUB dental interview?

Drawn from QUB’s published competencies, expect scenarios/questions around:

• Empathy & communication (breaking bad news, calming anxious patients) 

• Ethical & moral reasoning (consent, confidentiality, fairness) 

• Professionalism & integrity (fitness to practise, social media, boundaries)

• Resilience & self-awareness (dealing with setbacks, reflection) 

• Motivation & insight (why dentistry, why QUB, understanding the course)

How many applicants get interviews—and offers?

QUB doesn’t publish a fixed interview-to-offer ratio every year. Officially, offers are made to the highest-ranked applicants after an interview to fill the 45 Home/ROI + 15 International places.

Numbers interviewed vary by cycle. (Several FOI threads ask for precise figures, but the public data are inconsistent/incomplete.)

💬 Student comments (what applicants say)

• Students on The Student Room reported interview dates in late February in a recent cycle (“next interview date is last week in Feb”). 

• historic TSR posts discuss stations focusing on maturity, communication, empathy and ethics, aligning with the School’s own competency list. 

(Student forums are anecdotal—use them for flavour, not policy. Always default to QUB’s official pages and your invite email.)

📚 Station bank: 60+ example MMI prompts tailored to QUB

Below are practice stations built around QUB’s stated competencies and common MMI formats. Use timed rotations (6–8 minutes) and a 1-minute reading period.

A. Communication & Empathy

1. A parent is worried about fluoride varnish safety for their 6-year-old—explain and reassure.

2. An anxious adult gags during impressions—how do you adapt your approach?

3. A role-play: a patient complains about waiting times at your student clinic.

4. Deliver clear post-extraction instructions to a patient who seems distracted.

5. Explain the risks/benefits of amalgam vs composite to a cost-conscious patient.

B. Ethics & Professionalism

1. A peer posts clinic photos on social media—professional response?

2. A patient requests antibiotics “just in case” before a routine filling.

3. Parent insists on removing a healthy tooth for cosmetic reasons—how do you handle consent and best interests for a minor?

4. You suspect domestic abuse—what are your safeguarding steps?

5. Managing gifts from grateful patients.

C. Teamwork, Leadership & Integrity

1. Your colleague regularly arrives late to clinics; patient care is slipping.

2. Role-play mediating a conflict in a dental outreach team.

3. You notice errors in a lab prescription you didn’t write—what now?

4. Delegating tasks appropriately during a busy session.

5. Speaking up about poor infection-control practice.

D. Problem-solving & Prioritisation

1. Two emergencies arrive at once—how do you triage?

2. A handpiece fails mid-procedure—immediate actions?

3. Clinic runs 30 minutes behind—how do you recover?

4. A patient is needle-phobic but needs urgent care.

5. Interpreting mixed messages between a radiograph and clinical findings.

E. Resilience & Self-awareness

1. Describe a time you failed and what changed.

2. Balancing part-time work, studies and volunteering.

3. Coping techniques after a challenging clinical session.

4. How do you give and receive feedback?

5. What would peers say are your development areas?

F. Motivation & Insight (QUB-specific)

1. Why dentistry—not medicine?

2. Why QUB specifically (teaching style, outreach, course structure)?

3. What do you know about dentistry in Northern Ireland (NHS dental access, oral-health inequalities)?

4. How will you contribute to QUB’s student community?

5. Reflect on recent NHS dentistry headlines and their impact on patient care.

G. Data/Policy Interpretation

1. Read a short infographic on caries prevalence—identify priorities for a prevention campaign in NI.

2. A table shows missed appointments by age group—what interventions would you try?

3. Weigh up supervised tooth-brushing programmes vs water fluoridation.

H. Manual Dexterity & Observation (verbalised)

1. Describe step-by-step how you’d assemble a flat-pack item using only verbal instructions.

2. Spot differences between two dental models (verbal description only).

3. Explain how you’ve developed fine motor skills (e.g., music, crafts).

I. Role-play Ethics Hybrids

1. A patient challenges your treatment plan costs—negotiate options fairly.

2. Breaking bad news about a tooth with a poor prognosis.

3. Handling a language barrier—safe communication strategies.

4. Managing a “non-attender” respectfully but firmly.

(QUB’s public “MMI” page shows sample scenarios and the competencies they score—use those to pattern your preparation.) 

Want structured drills on these scenarios with rigorous feedback? Book our Dental School Interview Course or our Mock MMI Circuits.

When are offers released?

QUB states that offers are made to those who rank highest after interview; most decisions arrive after the interview window and within general UCAS decision timelines (you’ll see personal reply deadlines in your UCAS Hub). QUB runs Offer Holder Days in March/April, which implies many offers have landed by then in typical cycles. Always rely on your UCAS Hub for exact dates. 

⚙️ Key facts at a glance

• Interview type: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). 

• 2026 delivery: Home/ROI in person (Belfast); International online. 

• Interview window: Mid-December → March. 

• Selection: Stage 1 (Academic + UCAT decile points for Home/ROI; SJT used as tiebreaker) → Stage 2 (interview). Offers based solely on interview rank. 

• Places: 45 Home/ROI + 15 International. 

🧠 How to prepare (Top tips for QUB Dentistry)

1. Target QUB’s competencies. Build examples showing empathy, professionalism, ethics, resilience and insight into dentistry. Map each example to at least one competency. 

2. Practise concise structure. For ethics/problem-solving, try SPIES or IDEA frameworks to think aloud, weigh options and justify decisions.

3. Role-play realism. Practise with an actor or friend—focus on tone, signposting and checking understanding.

4. Stay NI-aware. Read briefings on NHS dentistry access, prevention policy, and oral-health inequalities in Northern Ireland so you can discuss context respectfully.

5. Reflect, don’t rehearse. Interviewers value authentic reflection more than memorised scripts.

6. Log your work experience. Convert observations into insights (ethics, consent, communication, teamwork, audit/quality).

7. Know the logistics. Home/ROI candidates should plan Belfast travel; international candidates must test their tech environment early. 

8. UCAT awareness (Home/ROI). Understand how deciles convert to points for shortlisting in 2026 (no Abstract Reasoning). 

Need expert coaching aligned to QUB’s rubric? Book our Dental School Interview Course – designed by NHS academic dentists and orthodontists.
Prefer live stations with exam-style scoring? Try our Mock MMI Circuits.

Sources (official & recent)

• QUB Admissions Policy – Dentistry (2026 entry): selection stages, competencies, UCAT decile scoring (VR/DM/QR only), SJT tiebreak, interview-only offers. (QUB official PDF) Queen's University Belfast

• QUB MMI page (School site): 2026 delivery (home in-person; international online) and mid-Dec to Marchinterview window; sample stations and competencies. (QUB official site) Queen's University Belfast

• QUB Dentistry “How to Apply” page: 45 Home/ROI + 15 International places. (QUB official site) Queen's University Belfast

Final word

If you align your preparation to QUB’s competency-based MMI, practise ethical reasoning and communication under time pressure, and bring reflective insight into dentistry in NI, you’ll stand out. You’ve got this 💪🦷

🎓 Next step: Book our Dental School Interview Course – designed by NHS academic dentists and orthodontists
🧭 Then, pressure-test your skills in real stations: MMI Mock Dentistry Circuits.