Once you’ve submitted your dental school application, the next important step is the interview. It’s normal to feel nervous, but proper preparation will help you feel more confident and potentially improve your performance. The first step in your preparation is to anticipate common interview questions so that you can understand what the interviewers are looking for and prepare your answers. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the most common questions asked in dental school interviews to help you prepare and ace your dental school interview.
Why do you want to become a dentist?
This is a common question that almost every dental school will ask during the interview. The interviewer wants to understand your motivation behind your passion for dentistry. It’s essential to be honest and specific in your answer. Talk about important life events or how you became interested in dentistry. Emphasize your dedication and commitment towards the field, and how you’re prepared to take on future opportunities as a dentist.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This question can be a bit tricky, but it is crucial to answer them honestly. Give enough evidence to support each of your responses. Use words that focus on personal attributes that are important to the dental profession. For strengths, you can mention your communication skills, empathy, teamwork abilities, and attention to detail. For weakness discuss areas that you are working on, such as public speaking, and how you overcome those weaknesses.
How would you handle a difficult patient?
Patients are often someone who cannot communicate well or someone who has fear and anxiety towards dental procedures. Use the S.T.A.R. (Situation, Task, Action, Result) approach to answer this question. The interviewer wants to know your patience, understanding, and communication skills while dealing with tricky patients. Focus on your approach and your steps to ensure your patient is comfortable.
How do you balance social life and academic life?
In dental school, there is a lot of material to cover, and it can be overwhelming for students. This question aims to see if you can balance many roles and commitments. the interviewer wants to identify if you have good time management skills, strong prioritization skills, and whether you can maintain a healthy work-life balance. Explain to the interviewer how you manage to balance the two aspects of your life, and how you plan in advance to ensure that your schooling and social life are not overshadowing each other.
What contributions can you bring to our school?
In this question, the interviewer wants to understand why you want to attend this particular school, and how you will become an active part of their community. Show your enthusiasm for the school and provide your plans to contribute to the school. You can talk about clubs or organizations that you would like to start or ideas to make the school more welcoming and professional.
Preparing for a dental school interview can feel like an overwhelming process, but your preparation and practice of the most common questions beforehand will make you feel much more confident. The interviewer will use these questions to help them assess whether you would be an excellent fit to join their school community. So, practice, using these questions as a guide and demonstrate your commitment, passion, and capabilities. Remember to remain calm and be yourself as you showcase your passion for becoming a dentist.
Thank you for reading! I hope this blog post was helpful in your preparation and practice for the dental school interview process. By following these tips, you can demonstrate your commitment and passion for the dental field while remaining calm and confident. With practice, hard work, and dedication, you can make a successful application to become a dentist. Best of luck to you on your journey! If you have any further questions or need additional guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at the Orgoman Team – we are always here to help