Example interview questions for dentistry applicant

I had some old practice questions left over from when I applied last year so I thought I would post them on TSR to give this year’s applicants a chance to practice especially since admissions forum is still down. If anyone else has any practice questions feel free to add them to my list.

Why do you want to come to ……… university?

What examples of your manual dexterity do you have and did you bring anything with you to show us?

What are the negative aspects of dentistry?

If taxpayers pay tax for dental students to become dentists do you think all dentists should have to work in the NHS for a certain number of years?

Can you think of a good example of your team working skills?

Tell us about what you observed on your work experience?

Why do you think that many NHS dentists are going private?

How are you doing in your A levels?

Why do you want to study dentistry?

What qualities should a dentist have?

What can you offer us as a student?

How do you cope with stress?

How is dentistry different to other jobs?

What do you do in your spare time to relax?

Can you tell us about any modern advances in dentistry?

How do you feel about the lack of dentists in this country and the lack of funding for dentists?

How do you feel about dentists moving over to this country e.g from Poland where there is an even greater shortage of dentists?

Why do some people underestimate the value of their teeth?

How should the government spend money on NHS dentistry and prevention of dental disease?

Are dentists portrayed badly in the media?

What stresses do dentists face other than their time management?

Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine Interview

My second interview was with Stony Brook Dental.

 I’d received a phone call to schedule an interview for the following week.

 A quick turn-around. It was nice to receive a phone call, as every other school had sent a letter or e-mail. 

At the time, my brother was a second year student, so I had already seen some of the school. My father also graduated in the third dental class from Stony Brook.

I drove down the night before to stay with my aunt in nearby Setauket. 

Our day at Stony Brook started much later than other schools, we were to be at the school at 10am. From the beginning, the Stony Brook interview was much more intimate than other schools. 

The admissions staff members were very friendly. Kathy led me to wait with the other interviewees. 

It was a small conference room, only seven students were being interviewed. A few were from the immediate area, a few from New York City, while I and a student from Buffalo had traveled the furthest.

My interview was with Dr. Garant, a dentist who’d been with Stony Brook Dental School since it’s inception. He commented that he kept telling himself that it was his last year, but kept returning.

 Dr. Garant was a very friendly character, and our talk was mostly informal conversation.

 He did his best to jot notes about many of my experiences as we chatted. We had a moment of connection in speaking of Europe, a place both of us loved to visit.

 He concluded the interview by saying that he very much hoped to see me back at the school. I agreed. While we walked back to the conference room, we chatted and joked in a way that made me feel as if I’d known him longer than just 20 to 30 minutes.

 It was a very warming feeling, and made me feel welcome at Stony Brook.

Our day then led to a presentation by Dean Cinotti.

 She mainly just spoke to us in a kind, informal manner and answered all of our questions.

 She also led us on our tour. The facilities were quite good, namely the clinic. Pre-clinic labs and lecture halls were a bit dated, but in no way that would interfere with education. 

In the clinic, each student adopted his/her own chair and remained there for the year.

 Each chair had a computer for easy charting and reference to academic requirements. The clinics were fairly small, yielding an intimate feeling which reflected the small student-faculty ratio.

Following the tour we met with a Financial Aid representative who performed a similar spiel as to at UMDNJ. Then, two fourth-year students joined us for lunch. 

They were very friendly people, and seemed very down-to-earth. All of our questions were answered in a rational manner, with smiles and cheerfulness.

 There were no condescending answers as I’ve experienced at other schools.

 When the lunch was concluded, Kathy from admissions came to make concluding remarks and wished us a good day.

Later I spoke with Brendon, who mentioned Dr. 

Garant had come to speak with him about me.

 He mentioned that it sounded as if Dr. Garant really wanted me to come to Stony Brook.

 Obviously, the final decision was up to the admissions committee.

 Brendon hosted a party of second-year students the night after my interview date. 

There were a lot of diversity in the students that came. All were very friendly and sociable.

 They also said that they wanted to see me at Stony Brook the following year, and that I ought get in.

*I was placed on the waiting list at Stony Brook during the first round of acceptances.

 In May I received a direct call from Dean Cinotti who offered me a position. I’ll be attending Stony Brook this fall.

Dentistry School Interview Questions

These are the questions which were asked at Dentistry School Interviews in 2012:

1. Why dentistry?
2. Why us?
3. What can you offer our dentistry school?
4. What are the qualities of a good dentist?
5. Tell us about yourself?
6. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
7. What did you learn from your work experience?
8. What did you like most and least about your work experience?
9. How do you cope with stress?
10. When do you know when you are getting stressed?
11. Tell me about preventive dentistry?
12. How do you cope in situations when there is not enough time to finish a task?
13. Give me an example of a time when you worked in a team?
14. Are you a team player or a team leader?
15. Do teams need leaders?
16. What are the qualities of a team player?
17. What are the qualities of a team leader?
18. There has been a good deal of negative publicity about memory filling. Do you think that they are dangerous?
19. Should dental treatment be free in the NHS?
20. Have you read any articles about dentistry recently?
21. What precautions need to be taken with patients who are HIV positive?
22. How important is team working in the role of dentistry?
23. What is orthodontics?
24. Why do dentists recommend the fluoridation of water supplies?
25. What are the arguments against the fluoridation of water supplies?
26. What are the ups and downs of being a dentist?
27. What are cosmetic implants?
28. How important is attention to detail and precision in dentistry?
29. Why would you have an angry patient in a dental practice?
30. How would you deal with an angry patient in your dental practice?
31. Can you tell us about any modern advances in dentistry?
32. How do you feel about the lack of dentists in this country and the lack of funding for dentists?
33. How should the Government spend money on NHS dentistry and prevention of dental disease?
34. What are the advantages and disadvantages of amalgam?
35. What are the advantages and disadvantages of white fillings?
36. What stresses do dentists face other than their time management?
37. Why dentistry as opposed to medicine?
38. If you had to organize a campaign to improve dental health, how would you go about it?
39. You are a dental student and the dentist came in smelling of alcohol. What would you do?
40. What dental procedure did you see during your work experience?
41. Why do you think many NHS dentist go private?
42. How good is your manual dexterity? 
43. What is gingivitis?
44. How is dentistry different from other jobs?
45. If dentistry didn’t exists what would you do?
46. If you could invite 4 people to dinner who would they be and why?
47. How does politics influence dentistry?
48. How would your enemies describe you?
49. What is the most difficult challenge you have faced in your life time?
50. How do you cope with conflict?
51. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
52. Describe our course here at this University?
53. What would you do if you weren’t accepted?
54. Why should we take you rather than anyone else?
55. What are the most prevalent problems in dentistry today?
56. What was your favourite subject at school?
57. Who are the members of the dental team?
58. Can you name 5 of your weaknesses?
59. How would your friends describe you?
60. You are third year dentistry student and you see your best friend cheating in his exams. What would you do?
61. What are the challenges you will experience as a Nottingham dental student?
62. What was it that you saw during your work experience that helped you to decide that you wanted to do dentistry?
63. What are the frustrations of a dentist?
64. Some NHS Trusts will not put obese patients and smokers on the waiting lists until they lose weight or give up smoking. What are your views on this?
65. What one event/action do you regret and why?
66. What do you wish you had done instead?
67. What did you learn from it?
68. If you were a dentist and an HIV positive patient was bleeding from a laceration, and needed urgent treatment. You didn’t have gloves. Would you put the patient or your own safety first?
69. When would you break patient’s confidentiality?
70. How important is communication in dentistry?
71. Who may have some long term problems with their oral hygiene?
72. What would you say to someone who demands free treatment?
73. How is important is leadership in dentistry?
74. When have you showed good leadership skills?
75. What are the new NHS dental reforms?
76. In dentistry you meet patients from all walks of life, how would you cope with that?
77. How do you relax?
78. The dental school is hard work. How do you propose to manage your work and still play music?
79. How would you dissuade someone from going into Dentistry?
80. What are the advantages and disadvantages of PBL?
81. What previous experience have you had of learning in a small group setting?
82. Tell us about a group activity you have organized?
83. How good are your organizational skills?
84. How do you deal with criticism?
85. How good are you at multitasking?
86. Who do you admire most and why?
87. In ten years time you had to look back in 2012, What would you remember most about it?
88. What is the difference between tooth erosion and tooth decay?
89. What methods do dentists use to relax their patients?
90. Dentistry requires a high degree of manual dexterity. Do you possess this?
91. What is manual dexterity?
92. Describe a situation which demonstrates your manual dexterity?
93. How will you cope with the demands of the job?
94. Why is multi tasking important in dentistry?
95. What is the most important quality of a dentist?
96. What are your views on euthanasia?
97. What surprised you during work experience?
98. What is diabetes?
99. How is insulin produced?
100. How does diabetes affect gum disease?

DENTAL SCHOOL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The last step in the process of getting into dental school is the dental school interview. In fact, you may be vastly more qualified than any of the other applicants. You may have a competitive GPA, DAT Score and overall application. However, if you don't connect with the interviewer and help them see why you deserve to go to their dental school you may get rejected or placed on a waiting list. Remember, on average, only about 30%-40% of interviewed students will be accepted and you want to be one of them. This brief meeting is your sole opportunity to convince the interviewer why you deserve to go to dental school. You should prepare a strong, well-organized and unique presentation of your abilities and your reasons for becoming a dentist. Any weaknesses in your application should be clearly explained. In most cases it is not what you say, but how you say it.

Different dental schools tend emphasize different categories of questions. The most common categories of questions are ambiguous, dental related, academic, and social, stress-type, problem situations and personality oriented. We will examine each category in terms of sample questions and general comments.

One question that you will most likely be asked is, “why dentistry?” You need to come up with a good answer for this question. Try to keep this answer more unique than just “I would like to help patients and I have good hand skills”. Definitely do not mention any financial reason. Read your personal statement before your interview. Any piece of information written in your personal statement can be a potential dental school interview question. Be prepared to explain any experience, shadowing or situations you wrote in your personal statement. Always come with a positive attitude to the dental school interview, be truthful, honest, respectful and friendly.

Some potential dental school interview questions:

1. Why dentistry?
2. What sets you apart from the other candidates?
3. How do you plan to pay for dental school?
4. What have you improved on your dental resume since last year?
5. How would you describe yourself?
6. What are your strengths?
7. What are your weaknesses?
8. Why should we pick you?
9. Do you plan to specialize?
10. We noticed you withdrew from a class, why?
11. How do you handle stress?
12. What would you do if a classmate sent you the answers to a test?
13. Tell me about your research?
14. Are your DAT scores indicative of your abilities?
15. Is your GPA indicative of your abilities?
16. What do you do for fun?
17. Tell me about the W on your transcript?
18. Why your shadowing hours are so low?
19. What is the most memorable experience in your life?
20. Who is your role model and why?

Unanswered questions about death of sacred buffalo

When the white buffalo, Lightning Medicine Cloud, was born to a Lakota Indian rancher in Greenville in the spring of 2011, he regarded its coming as sign of great unity for all peoples.

Less than a year later, Lightning was found dead and any unity was shattered.

The rancher, Arby Little Solider, insisted the buffalo had been killed, gutted and skinned. The public was moved, and donated funds to help find the killer.

"A little boy went on home, his mother went on home, his dad went on home," Little Soldier said in May, 2011, after the buffalo was found dead. "They're all together, and God bless them."

But an investigation by the Hunt County Sheriff's Department and the Texas Rangers concluded the animal had not been killed. They determined it died of natural causes.

Records show investigators also found:

Little Soldier spent the reward money on personal and business expenses.

He failed to pay debts related to the buffalo.

He accused his friends of brutally butchering the calf.

One of those friends was Yolanda Blue Horse. When did she become concerned about Little Soldier's actions?

"When the money started coming into play, yeah," she said.

Blue Horse said her friendship with Little Soldier eroded soon after the buffalo was born. She was upset when Little Soldier planned a public celebration marking the birth of the animal and charged a $5 parking fee.

"You don't mix money with our spirituality," she said.

After the buffalo died, Yolanda Blue Horse was surprised to hear that she was being blamed for its death. Sheriff's department records show the person pointing the finger was Arby Little Soldier, the buffalo's owner.

In an interview recording released by the Sheriff's Department, Little Soldier's wife Pat pointed the finger at Yolanda Blue Horse, a fellow Native American.

"I don't say this to be racial. We had hoped it was some white, toothless redneck. I'm sorry, we had hoped it was," Pat Little Soldier told investigators. "We could not tell ourselves it was a Native American."

Then there's the broken relationship with the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and its director, Sally Bird. She spent thousands of dollars to promote and support the public celebration when the white buffalo was born.

Bird said Little Soldier agreed to use the parking money to reimburse the Chamber about $2,000 for renting portable toilets.

"He has not paid us back," Bird said.

And then there was the last minute change of plans with the T-shirts that the chamber spent nearly $4,000 printing.

"We were told by Mrs. Little Soldier that because of some of something legal — and truly, I don't know exactly what she meant — but they were not allowed to sell anything except for the ones they were authorized to sell," Bird said.

Then, finally, there's the relationship with the public.

When people learned about the white buffalo's death, donors like Shirley Vilfordi of Dallas donated to a reward fund. She gave $100.

"I was hoping that it would help in leading to whoever did this," she said.

Bank records subpoenaed by the Sheriff show the public contributed a combined $7,345 — including one check for $5,000.

But the Sheriff concluded the money was co-mingled into Little Soldier's business account, which was used to pay for things like "motel rooms, Medieval Times, payroll for employees."

The investigator concluded the money "can not be accounted for."

"I'm disappointed," said fund donor Vilfordi.

Arby Little Soldier declined to be interviewed for this story, but after being interviewed by the Sheriff's investigator he wrote a post — since removed — on his website.

"It appears Arby and Pat Little Soldier are considered 'suspects' in the slaughter of the sacred white buffalo calf," the message said, adding that they "...will spend whatever is necessary and complete due process of the law, until justice has been served for this senseless crime."

During his interview with the Sheriff's department, Little Soldier remained firm that Lighting had been killed, gutted and skinned.

The Sheriff noted that because Little Solider waited six days to report the death, Lightning was badly decomposed by the time they dug up the body, but all signs pointed to a natural death.

During that conversation, three months into the investigation, Little Solider said he had photos from when the body was fresh.

"You said you have pictures of Lightning?" he was asked by a Texas Ranger working the case. "Yes," Little Soldier replied.

"Can you get those to us?" the Ranger asked. "Yes, ma'am," said Little Soldier.

But he never did. And without those photos, investigators said they had no choice but to close the case.

And a story that was supposed to be about unity ended with that vision in tatters.

Buffalo dental interview questions

Buffalo was my last scheduled interview prior to December 1st, the AADSAS decision date.

 Being in November, it was unlikely that I’d receive any more invitations to interview in the early stages of the application process.

I was lucky to have a connection at the school and in the Buffalo area.

 My cousin was in her last year at the ortho program, and lived near the school with her husband and sister.

 I made the long drive the night before my interview, arriving after 5 hours in the car.

 After relaxing at her home for a while, playing with the dogs and meeting the kitten for the first time, we went out for Thai food.

 Michelle, my cousin, had to go to a gathering for the ortho applicants, since they were also in the interview stage of the application process. She met a 4th year student named Nish who was applying to the ortho program and who said he was on the dental admissions committee.

 I had someone to look forward to meeting.

Michelle showed me into the school, and up to the admissions office.

 The other applicants and I were shown to a conference room where we’d spend most of our day. Barbara Weinberg began with a presentation about the school, concentrating on some its highlights, namely its outreaches into the community, both local and global.

 It did seem like Buffalo had the most outreaches of any school that I visited, and that it was easy to find a spot on one of the outreaches. 

There was also a short presentation on the student assistance that is offered through a special student services office, as well as student organized help.

 A note taking service was mentioned, but not explained. I do believe some of the classes are recorded. The dean also joined us for a moment to give a short speech of the school, which was primarily unmemorable except for the fact that he admitted that the applicant review process is difficult. 

Buffalo seems to be trying new techniques to choose its students, which is good.

Buffalo was the first school to require a short writing segment.

 I hadn’t given a writing sample like this since grade school. Everything has been on the computer since then.

 The short essay question was related to explaining the most rewarding class in your undergraduate studies.

 Afterward, another student commented that he felt most people would choose organic chemistry, for an effect of sorts. I hadn’t even thought of this, since organic chemistry was naturally the most rewarding and challenging class I’d taken.

Now it was more of the waiting game. Thankfully, Buffalo had students come in to answer questions while we all waited to be called for our case study and interview.

I had my case study first, which everyone has with the dean.

 The case study was about a potential pilot program which would preferentially choose students who agreed to travel to a somewhat remote location, a location in need of dentists, to serve for a few years. I mentioned that it might work, but would probably be better if dentists were brought to that area that would stay.

 So as to increase longevity of care.

 I brought up a thread I had seen on student doctor net about a dental school who mainly accepted students from its state. 

The school had an average DAT score of 15 for accepted students.

 I mentioned how that could dilute the profession, and how, if we can, we might want to make the dentist population the best it can be. 

The dean responded by mentioning that he saw my point, but that he wasn’t sure what defined a good dentist.

 A 15 DAT doesn’t necessarily mean a bad dentist, does it? It was refreshing to hear him admit this, though discouraged my confidence.

 If the dean wasn’t sure what made a good dental student and a good dentist, how could I show him that I would be both?

Birmingham dental interview questions

Birmingham City head to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday looking up, not down.

A much needed home victory over Bristol City kept Blues in 18th place in the Championship.

But they are only five points away from Rovers, who are in the play-off zone.

Blues are now seven points clear of the bottom three.

The league is so tight this season, and looks likely to remain so throughout.

A succession of wins can catapult you forwards.

Crystal Palace have gone top of the pile and they were 23rd in September.

Veteran campaigner Paul Robinson remains convinced that Blues have it within them to mount a promotion push.

“What I have seen in the dressing room and on the training pitch, my view is still 100 per cent – the lads we have got in there are easily capable of getting promoted,” the defender stated.

“The quality in that dressing room, from the younger players to the experienced players, is unbelievable.

“And you don’t get that at a lot of clubs but we have got it.

“And it is down to us now. It’s not the manager. The manager picks the team and the team that goes out on the pitch has to perform.

“It’s down to the players who go out and wear that shirt. They have got to go out and wear it with pride and start picking up results to get us promoted. It’s about consistency.”

Blues have not won back-to-back games all season.

That is something they will try to put right at Ewood Park.

And when it looks as if they have turned the proverbial corner, they go backwards.

Lee Clark is clearly as frustrated as the next man.

And he has revealed that when it comes to St Andrew’s matches, he will look carefully at the team and not necessarily what has gone on before. “I love continuity, I like getting confidence in the players, playing them week in, week out so they get relationships going,” said the manager before Tuesday night.

“But, you know, in that remit you have got to deliver results.

“Obviously, for the fourth game at home, we haven’t produced a winning performance.