University of Detroit Mercy Dentistry Interview Questions

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University of Detroit Mercy Dentistry Key Information

All candidates ‘being seriously considered’ are invited for an in-person interview. No further information is provided on the school’s site regarding format, although previous students report an open-file, in-person and one-on-one format.

Detroit Mercy emphasises that dentists should serve those in need, whilst excelling at a course that is challenging and a career that is equally difficult. They are therefore looking for those with a strong sense of ethics and right and wrong, and those that are well aware of how hard they will have work over the course of their degree.

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University of Detroit Mercy Dentistry Past Interview Questions

Motivation and Insight into Dentistry

Why UDM?
Why dentistry?
Describe a good day and a bad day in clinic.
How much money do you expect to make as a dentist?
If you are doing poorly in your classes, what will you do?
Tell me about your volunteering experience.
Do you work better under a structured or unstructured atmosphere?
Humanities classes are important for an undergraduate education, so if you were in charge of putting together a dental schools curriculum and you had to choose a humanities course to go into the dental school curriculum, what would the course material consist of and how would it benefit the dental student?
What’s your favorite cell in the immune system?
If you could not go into dentistry, what would you do instead?
What was the greatest failure you had while pursuing dentistry?
How do you expect to be successful in dental school giving its heavy demands?
How do you relieve stress?
What are some things you don’t like about dentistry?
Did you also apply to medical schools?
Tell me about yourself and what has led to your decision to pursue dentistry as a career.
How was your interest in dentistry sparked?
Why dentistry over any health profession?
How do you plan on paying for dental school?
Where do you want to practice?
Explain your DAT score to me.
If you had trouble academically in a class how would you react/attempt to improve your grade?
Tell me about bad experiences you have witnessed shadowing.
What is your take on volunteering?
Tell me about your research experience.
If you went blind (or lost your hand) and could not be a dentist, what would you do?
Why and when did you become interested in dentistry?
What was the worst thing you’ve seen while observing in a dental office?
Why Dental School instead of Medical School?
How did you study for the DAT?
What did you like most about undergrad?

Manual Dexterity

What have you done that shows you have the eye -hand coordination to become a dentist?
Name something you do that requires manual dexterity.
Do your musical abilities help with your manual dexterity?

Ethical Scenarios

If a dental hygienist that worked for you called off of work every Saturday for health reasons, how would you address this as their boss?
Have you ever cheated?
Is it possible for a practicing dentist to become addicted to drugs or alcohol?
If you had a dental hygienist and a receptionist in your practice, and the receptionist called in every Saturday claiming she’s sick but your receptionist just tells you she’s a party girl and is lying to you, what would you do?
What would you do if another student offered you the answers to an exam?
Would you fulfill a patient’s wish of a full mouth of steel caps when it was unnecessary?
Say you are practicing in a small town and you have a patient who is an 80 year old male. He has some family and they are just as old as him. You carefully explain the treatment and take time the next day to meet with him to explain more. The patient listens carefully and after your explanation he says, “Dr. X, I trust you and I believe that you know exactly what I need and that you have the proper training and education, but I don’t understand a thing you explained to me. But I am OK with you treating me.” How would you handle this situation?
Have you ever witnessed another student cheat?
What would you do if you knew someone had the exam answers prior to taking the exam?
Imagine that you went to an art fair with your family and bought a piece of art for 100$, then left it with the art vendor you bought it from in order to come get it at the end of the day. You come back at the end of the day to find out it was sold to someone else and that he doesn’t even remember you at all. What would you do?
How would you motivate an energetic but unproductive coworker to be more productive?
Do you believe healthcare is a right or privilege?
What would you do if a coworker didn’t like you?

Teamwork Tasks

What are some examples that show that you can effectively work with people?
Tell us about a project you worked on, where you were given ambiguous directions.