The purpose of those tricky Dentistry interview questions is to show interviewers that you have all the traits that a good Dentist requires. Although interviewers are looking at your personality and understanding as a whole, there are a few things you can do to show them that you have what it takes to study Dentistry.
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Dentistry Interview Questions on Motivation to Study Dentistry
Interviewers want to see students who are passionate about studying Dentistry and show drive. Dentistry is a long course and, sadly, a minority of students do drop out. Because of this, interviewers need to sure that they offer places to students who are highly committed.
One of the ways they assess this is by asking Dentistry interview questions like “why do you want to study Dentistry?”. Interviewers love students who have thought about this question deeply, prior to interview. Try to give a concise answer that is personal to you. Indicate that you have a realistic understanding about what Dentistry involves by linking your answer back to your work experience.
You can also talk about some of the negative aspects of Dentistry in answer to Dentistry interview questions such as this. This could include dealing with anxious patients, working in a stressful environment or having to treat ungrateful patients. However, remember to mention how you are up to the challenge, and that you personally feel that the positives strongly outweigh the negatives!
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Understanding of Dentistry as a Career
Whilst interviews aren’t expecting you to have the knowledge of a Dentist, they love to hear applicants talking about what they know about Dentistry. When faced with Dentistry interview questions, remeber to speak about your work experience: what did you learn about Dentistry that you didn’t know before? Was there anything that surprised you during your work experience?
Another way to demonstrate your understanding of Dentistry is by speaking about something you have read that relates to field. It is useful to read news relating to Dentistry, Medicine and the NHS before your interview. In fact, The Medic Portal release a weekly news summary (filter the blogs by “Medical News”) that is useful to read before your interview – how handy! An interviewer might ask you Dentistry interview questions about certain subjects, such as obesity for instance. It will strength your answer if you are able to mention something current relating to the topic, showing that you have done additional reading. Research indicates that you are passionate about studying Dentistry and that you are keen to learn more!
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Reflection on Experiences and Performances
All working Dentists are encouraged to reflect on their work and learning. Something that interviewers love to see is students who already practice this skill! Reflection involves thinking about your experiences, determining what you learnt from them, how you can improve and what you might do differently next time. It is useful to do this by keeping a portfolio of all your experiences, especially those relating to work experience.
An interviewer might ask you Dentistry interview questions like “tell me about a time that you worked in a team”. Your answer to this does not necessarily have to be Dentistry related. You could speak about any of your experiences, for example playing as part of a sports team. The key thing here is to relate this back to what you have learnt about working as a team, what worked well for you and what could you do to improve on your performance! It’s good to be honest about speak about aspects of your teamwork that didn’t work well, just be sure to say how you would overcome this next time. Also, don’t forget to relate your experiences and what you’ve taken away from them back to Dentistry!
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Evidence of Good Communication Skills
One of the main traits that is assessed at Dental interviews is communication. Interviewers love to see applicants who can communicate their answers to clearly and confidently when faced with challenging Dentistry interview questions. Whilst they might not be asking you directly a question relating to communication, they will be looking at your communication skills in general. Make sure that you have relaxed body language and don’t fidget, as this can be distracting.
Also remember that a key part of communication is to listen. Make sure that you pay attention to what the Dentistry interview questions are. If you didn’t understand a question fully it is perfectly acceptable to ask the interviewer to clarify what they have meant. This is much better than answering the wrong question by mistake!
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People Who Are Personable
A large part of being a Dentist involves interacting with patients from all walks of life. Interviewers will be asking Dentistry interview questions aimed at giving applications who have good people skills a chance to shine – interviewers love those who are personable!
Getting on well with your patients and your team members is important. A large part of this is being honest. Interviewers like to see applicants who are honest about their weaknesses, but still show confidence in their abilities. You need to show that you will treat your patients with respect. To do this, it is important to show empathy (see our blog on empathy!). To do this you can speak about how a patient might feel visiting the Dentist (were they anxious or scared?). Interviewers like to see that you have a level of understanding on a personal level, so try to offer a few examples of how to help patients feel at ease.
Stay tuned for more Dentistry blogs from me!
Uploaded by Joelle on 19th January, 2016
