Newcastle Dentistry Interview Questions & Tips

Preparation and motivation for dental school

• What interests you in particular about the Newcastle course?
• What contributions can you expect to make to the University?
• You will be expected to study independently, and be responsible for your own learning. How can you illustrate that you are prepared for this?
• Why are you choosing to study Dentistry rather than Medicine?
• What are the differences between private dentistry and NHS dentistry?
• Are you aware of the GDC (General Dental Council)? What is its role?
• Do you know how NHS dentists are funded?
• Are you attracted by the financial rewards possible in Dentistry?
• Do you keep up to date with healthcare news and trends?
• Can you give us an example of how research is important to dentistry?
• Do you think that technology has influenced the practice of dentistry over the last 20 years? Will it continue to do so?

Effective Learning skills

• What kind of learning style do you have?
• Are you used to learning in small groups?
• Are you used to taking responsibility for your own learning?
• Do you believe that your learning style fits the course here at Newcastle?
• Have you any experience of teaching others?

Team working

• Tell us about a time when you worked successfully as part of a team.
• Tell us about a time when your individual skills were crucial to the success of your team.
• Are you a strong leader? Tell us about a time when you have shown leadership skills.
• How have you developed your leadership abilities throughout school?
• Do you think you work better in a team or alone?
• What other types of healthcare professional do dentists have to work alongside?

Personal qualities & resilience

• What personal qualities are most important to a dentist?
• What characteristics do you note in yourself that you believe to be important to pursuing a career in dentistry?
• Tell us about a time when you overcame a challenge in your learning.
• Tell us about a time when you overcame a personal challenge.
• What impressed you in particular about the manner of the dentists that you shadowed during your work experience?
• What did you notice that could have been improved by the dentists that you shadowed during your work experience?
• What personal strengths do you possess that will let you take on the amount of work required in a dentistry degree?

Interpersonal and communication skills

• Why are communication skills so important to dentists?
• How would you communicate with a difficult patient?
• What types of patient might be more difficult to communicate with than others?
• What communication challenges have you seen during your work experience?
• Tell us about a time when your communication skills were essential to a task succeeding.

Empathy, integrity and professionalism

• What do you understand by the term empathy?
• Should dentists have to work for the NHS for a set period of time?
• What do you understand by the term patient consent?
• Tell us about a time when you were impressed by the professionalism of a dentist during your work experience.