Aberdeen Dentistry Interview Questions & Tips

Past Interview Questions & Tips

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Aberdeen Dentistry Interview Format

Aberdeen receives roughly 200 applicants per year, of whom 60 will be invited to interview and between 30-40 offers made. Of these, they expect only 20 entrants to the course each year. Aberdeen’s admissions team will assess applications on their academic attainment and predictions (60%) and UKCAT (40%). High scoring candidates are invited to interview. The interviews are designed to test the following domains:

work experience
understanding of dentistry issues
problem-solving and analytical skills
enthusiasm & motivation to study dentistry
communication and interpersonal skills
manual dexterity skills

The interview will not test any academic knowledge, or any knowledge from the school curriculum.

The interviews are taken in an MMI format; the MMI will take around 90 minutes in total, and each station will last for 7 minutes. Communication skills are scored at each station alongside the principal domain being tested.

At the time of writing, interviews are conducted in-person, with a tour of the dental school beforehand.

Aberdeen Dentistry Key Application & Interview Statistics

Overall Success Rate (Total Applicants : Total Spaces)

Percentage of Candidates Interviewed

Percentage Of Candidates Interviewed

Interviewee Success Rate

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Aberdeen Dentistry Past MMI Stations & Interview Questions

Aberdeen provides an overview of recent question types and station themes. These provide us with a good overview through which we can segment many of the typical questions.

Research into undergraduate curricula and postgraduate training

What attracts you to the course at Aberdeen?
What do you think about the structure of the Aberdeen course?
Are you prepared for independent study?
How can you illustrate to us that you are a strong independent learner?
What further training would you expect to take on after graduating?
Where would you like your career in Dentistry to go?

Research into, then understanding of, the implications of a dental career

What first led you to become interested in Dentistry?
How have you researched the career?
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges that dentists face in their day-to-day work?
Why are you interested in studying Dentistry over Medicine?
How did you select your work experience?
Dentists have to show resilience to deal with their workload. How can you illustrate to us that you will be able to cope?
Have you considered a career in research, or specialising in another way?

Experience of caring or other environments

Tell us about work experience or volunteering that you have undertaken in a caring environment.
Why do you think it’s so important for Dentistry applicants to have worked in a caring capacity?
What would you highlight as the key learning points from your volunteering experience?

Consider a new situation and discuss their thoughts

Imagine that you are a newly-qualified dentist. One of your patients has expressed concerns about their teeth, and stated that they are in constant pain. However, they refuse to let you examine them unless they can be sedated, explaining that they get very anxious ‘at the thought of anyone touching their teeth.’ How would you deal with this situation, and what are the key issues to consider?
Imagine that you are a newly-qualified dentist, and one of your patients is a child of 10. They have severe decay in multiple teeth, and you believe that they need fillings. However, their mother refuses to provide consent for the procedure. How would you approach this situation?

Outline any learning points from previous experiences

Tell us about your work experience.
What surprised you most about what you say during your work experience?
What impressed you the most during your work experience?
Did your work experience change your perception of Dentistry?
Tell us about a difficult situation that arose during your work experience and how it was dealt with.

Reflect upon their own and others’ skills and abilities

What characteristics are most important to a dentist?
What qualities did you note in the dentists that you shadowed during your work experience?
What qualities do you note in yourself that you believe are essential to practising Dentistry?
What skills or abilities do you think are your weak points, and how would you work to develop them?

Consider their potential contribution to the care of others