Getting into dental school is no easy feat, and one of the most crucial steps in the process is acing the interview. Dental schools want to assess more than just your academic abilities—they want to see your communication skills, your critical thinking, and your passion for the field of dentistry. Preparing for the interview in advance can give you a major advantage and boost your confidence on the big day.
In this guide, we’ve compiled over 100 of the most common dental school interview questions. Whether you’re preparing for a traditional interview or a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), this list will help you anticipate what’s coming and practice formulating thoughtful, personalized responses. From basic questions about your background to complex ethical scenarios, we’ve got you covered.
Dive in, and start prepping for the questions that could make or break your dental school interview!
Sample Dental School Interview Questions
1. Tell me a little about yourself.
2. Why do you want to be a dentist?
3. What differentiates you from the rest of the applicants?
4. What is the moment from your past that made the greatest impact on you?
5. What do you like to do in your free time?
6. What is your greatest strength?
7. What is your greatest weakness?
8. What do you do when you are stressed out?
9. If you had to change anything about yourself, what would it be?
10. Tell me about a time you were stuck in an ethical dilemma. What did you do?
11. Tell me about a time you had to act as a leader.
12. Tell me about a time where you faced adversity. How did you overcome it?
13. Tell me about a time you failed at something.
14. Who’s an influential person in your life?
15. What are three things you want to change about yourself?
16. If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
17. Tell me about a time you told a lie.
18. What sets you apart from other applicants?
19. What do you believe makes a great leader?
20. What is your ultimate professional goal?
21. You find out a friend of yours cheated on an exam. What would you do?
22. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
23. What motivates you?
24. How would your friends describe you?
25. What’s your career look like 15 years from now?
26. A patient constantly shows up late for appointments. How would you handle it?
27. How would you work with a patient with a dental need that is unable to pay?
28. Tell me about a recent mistake you made.
29. What is your recent favorite book, tv show, movie, or podcast?
30. What would you do if you had unlimited money?
31. Do you have a favorite musical artist?
32. A friend of yours calls letting you know her grandmother was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. You have a major exam tomorrow. What would you do?
33. Who is someone you look up to?
34. Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news.
35. Tell me about any awards you’ve won.
36. You are seeing a patient who is requesting a second opinion. You disagree with the diagnosis the original dentist gave. What do you do?
37. Describe a negative experience you have witnessed while shadowing?
38. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond.
39. Tell me about your family.
40. What’s something you’re proud of?
41. How do you handle conflict?
42. Tell me about a time you weren’t reliable.
43. What’s been the biggest accomplishment you’ve made in your personal development recently?
44. What is your greatest achievement?
45. What is one thing that people misjudge about you?
46. What was your favorite class that ever you’ve taken?
47. What’s a good deed you’ve done recently?
48. What do you want me to remember about you?
49. Why do you want to be a student at our school specifically?
50. What are you looking for when choosing a dental school?
51. How do you like to study?
52. How will you handle the stress of dental school?
53. How do you align with our school’s mission statement?
54. What do you think will be your greatest challenge in completing dental school?
55. If you’re accepted here and your state school, which would you pick?
56. What do you think sets our school apart?
57. If you are accepted into two dental schools of your top choice, what would you do to make up your mind?
58. What are you most excited about for dental school?
59. What uniquely do you think you will contribute to your dental school class
60. Everyone has a role in each class. one could be a class clown, another can be the class president. What role do you think you will fill?
61. What do you think it will be like to live here?
62. How do you approach multitasking?
63. If you get accepted to every dental school you apply to, how do you decide where to go?
64. Two group members are disagreeing and it’s preventing you from progressing on your project. What would you do?
65. Do you know any current students here? If so, what have they told you about their experience?
66. If you could describe our dental school in five words or less, how would you describe it?
67. How do you think the transition from college to dental school will be like compared to the transition from high school to college?
68. What have you done to ensure you can handle a large course load?
69. What don’t you like about our curriculum? What is your favorite part?
70. Are we your top choice?
71. What is something you don't like about dentistry or would change?
72. What do you believe is the most important quality that a dentist should have?
73. How did your friends & family react to when they found out you wanted to be a dentist?
74. What is your favorite dental procedure that you've seen completed?
75. What would you do if you couldn’t be a dentist?
76. Why did you choose dentistry as opposed to medicine?
77. What do you think you will dislike the most about being a dentist?
78. What do you think you will like most about being a dentist?
79. If you weren't accepted to dental school this year, would you apply again?
80. What is the biggest challenge facing dentistry today?
81. What do you think is the future in dentistry?
82. Tell me about a typical day for a dentist.
83. Describe how a dentist does a filling.
85. What are your thoughts on cosmetic dentistry?
86. Was there a light bulb moment where you decided you wanted to be a dentist
87. Who is the dentist you are closest to? Tell me about what you've learned from them.
88. Do you plan to specialize?
89. If you had to choose a specialty right now, which would it be? Why?
90. What role does research play in dentistry?
91. What’s one part of your application you’d like us to overlook?
92. I noticed you struggled in __________ class. What caused this?
93. I noticed you withdrew from _________ class. What made you decide to do this
94. Which of your college courses interested you the most?
95. Why did you choose the undergraduate school you went to?
96. Why should we pick you over a student with similar stats?
97. Why did you major in _______?
98. If you could change anything in the admissions process, what would you do?
99. Have you been involved in any research?
100. What do you think is the weakest part of your application?
101. What questions do you have for me?
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