Dentistry at Aberdeen Dental School (Graduate Entry)

🎓 Aberdeen Dentistry Interview Questions & Topics for 2023 & 2024 entry

Several topics are more likely to come up at the University of Aberdeen Dental School MMI Interview, which can be derived from past Aberdeen MMI stations, including:

• Discuss their preparation for entry to Dentistry, eg Research into undergraduate curricula and postgraduate training

• Research then understanding of the implications of a dental career

• Experience in caring or other environments

• Consider a new situation and discuss their thoughts

• Outline any learning points from previous experiences

• Reflect upon their own and others' skills and abilities

• Consider their potential contribution to the care of others

• Work experience

• Understanding of dentistry issues

• Problem-solving and analytical skills

• Enthusiasm, interest and motivation to study dentistry

• Communication and interpersonal skills

• Manual dexterity skills

💯 Aberdeen MMI Interview Questions Scoring in 2023 & 2024 

The Admissions procedure at Aberdeen involves the detailed assessment and scoring of academic attainment/predictions (60%) and UKCAT (40%). The highest-scoring candidates are subsequently invited to interview and all subsequent offers are made on interview performance alone.

The candidate will be scored in several areas including:

• Ability to express ideas freely and coherently

• How well they use their existing knowledge to formulate answers to unknown areas

• Their ability to follow a reasoned argument and formulate an opinion

• The degree to which they are prepared for questions

• Their ability to discuss different aspects (advantages & disadvantages) of a problem/situation

• The degree of motivation, commitment, reflection and sensitivity demonstrated

• Their insight into working with others

Given that the pre-interview scoring system selects candidates who appear to have sufficient academic potential, the interview is not intended to:

• Test academic knowledge

• Include questions directly related to the school curriculum

❓  Aberdeen Interview Questions - Past, Recent & Likely Questions 2023

Motivation to study Dentistry at Aberdeen

1. Why Dentistry?

2. Why Aberdeen?

3. What did you learn from your dental work experience?

4. What qualities of a dentist did you see from your dental work experience?

5. What do you know about the Aberdeen Dentistry course? How is it taught?

6. Why do you think you will be well suited to this course?

7. Why Dentistry and not medicine or nursing?

8. Tell us about your volunteering.

9. What are your hobbies?

10. What are the negatives of a career in Dentistry?

11. Are there any societies you would like to join at Aberdeen?

Personal Insight/Qualities

1. Why should patients trust you?

2. What are your best qualities?

3. How do you manage stress?

4. There are many applicants with good grades, why should we take you?

5. What are the challenges currently faced by dentists?

6. Why is delegation important as a leader?

7. Can you provide an example of a time when you demonstrated resilience?

8. Give us an example of a time when you demonstrated teamwork.

9. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

10. How would your friends describe you?

11. How would you handle complaints and criticism?

12. Give us an example of a time when you were resilient. Why is this important in dentistry?

13. What's your favourite medium as an artist?

14. Tell us about an article that you have recently read.

Dental Situations

1. I'm at A&E where a patient comes in with health complications that originate from dental disease. Can you explain how that can happen?

2. What is it called when a dental infection spreads to the jaw and neck?

3. If a patient collapses in the waiting room, how would you assess them?

NHS & The Local Area

1. What is the CQC?

2. What are AGPs?

3. What is NICE?

4. What is the GDC?

5. What do you know about how the NHS charges for appointments?

6. What are the NHS values, and why are they important?

7. What is it like to be a dentist?

8. How do you deal with overpopulation?

9. What do you know about the local area here in Aberdeen?

10. What are the main challenges facing the future of dentistry in the UK?

11. How has COVID changed the way that dental practices operate?

12. How does oral health differ here compared to other areas in the UK?

Ethical Scenarios at the Aberdeen Interview

1. Understanding of the four ethical principles

2. Should all dentists have good teeth?

3. If you notice that a colleague has turned up to work drunk, what would you do?

4. Who can you escalate concerns to within a practice?

Other Stations including Manual Dexterity

1. Is it necessary to know the chemistry behind the materials you'll use as a dentist?

2. Talk us through this article - what do you know about the authors? What are they arguing here?

3. Photo: the image of decayed teeth - describe what you see here

4. Role play: explain to someone how to tie shoelaces

5. Role play: teach this person how to build this origami plane

6. Role play: the nurse leaves the room to attend to an emergency, and speak to the patient (general talk)

👉🏼 Read more: 230+ Dentistry Interview Questions for 2023

🗣️ Aberdeen Dentistry Interview Tips for 2024 Entry

1. How to answer the “Why Aberdeen” question - Model Answer - “I am excited about attending dental school at the University of Aberdeen for several reasons. Firstly, the school's reputation for excellence in dental education is well-known, and I am eager to learn from the experienced faculty members in state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Dental Hospital and School, the Suttie Centre for Teaching and Learning in Healthcare, and the Clinical Skills Centre. Additionally, I appreciate the school's emphasis on community outreach, and I look forward to participating in programs such as the Smile4Life initiative and the Dental Student Society. I also appreciate the school's commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, which will enable me to work with students from other healthcare disciplines, such as medicine and nursing. Finally, I am drawn to the city of Aberdeen itself, with its rich history and vibrant culture. I am excited about the opportunity to explore the city's many museums, galleries, and cultural events, as well as to experience the natural beauty of the surrounding countryside. Overall, I believe that attending the dental school at the University of Aberdeen will provide me with an exceptional education, valuable community outreach experiences, and a rich cultural and social environment in which to grow and develop as a future dental practitioner.” Make sure that you can differentiate Aberdeen from other dental schools in the UK.

2. Dress well - What to wear for your Aberdeen Dental Interview - Aberdeen asks you to dress smartly as if you were going to a job interview. Make sure you dress appropriately so you then feel as comfortable as possible at the interview. Also, check your email from Aberdeen as there are various documents they ask you to bring on the day.

3. Know your personal statement - reread any books or papers mentioned in your dental personal statement and try to follow up on any research that has been done on the topic since. This makes it easier to discuss should this be raised in the interview. These frequently come up at interviews - so make sure you can talk about everything written on your Dentistry personal statement and your UCAS reference.

4. Have examples ready to use: many of the questions asked at Aberdeen are example-based, ie, they require you to draw on examples from your personal life, dental work experience and dental volunteering to help make key points that the selectors are looking at. As such, it is paramount that you spend time learning about these examples and thinking about different scenarios that you can use at the interview. It is helpful if these scenarios are malleable and apply to questions e.g. being a football captain, deputy head girl or playing in the school orchestra.

5. Personal Attributes - Aberdeen has mentioned that they will ask you about personal attributes during the MMI interview. As such it is paramount that you go through and learn these. Aberdeen has asked questions concentrating on your strengths and weaknesses, so ensure you have suitable examples. Check out our 200+ interview question and answer guide for dealing with similar interview questions. 

6. Know the dentist training pathway: this is useful to mention in answers to show awareness about the career in Dentistry - and demonstrates that you have a considered approach. Fortunately, we have created a guide for you to learn about the dentistry training pathway here.

7. Read the MMI instructions carefully - you get enough time to read the instructions provided before the MMI station. Make sure that you don’t miss anything from this. Plan how you will structure your answer in the reading time provided. You must practice MMI questions and ensure you think about your structure for as many questions as possible before your interview.

8. MMI Stations - remember that each MMI station at Aberdeen is independent of the other. Therefore it is paramount that you try to treat them as such, if you have a bad station, try to forget about it and reset for the next station, this gives you the best chance of scoring well overall. Read our ultimate guide to preparing for Dentistry MMIs here.

9. Know the Aberdeen Course - we would always recommend doing this for every university that you plan to apply to. It is paramount that you know about the different topics covered each year. How does this differ from other universities? What is their policy on intercalation? Have you any idea about what you would plan to intercalate in at Aberdeen if you could or need to? If relevant, what do you know about graduate entry dentistry there? Remember there is very early clinical exposure at Aberdeen - this can be an advantage!

10. Know the local area - Aberdeen is a diverse region of Scotland, with a number of local factors and diseases that differentiate the Aberdeen region from the rest of the UK. Ensure that you research factors that can influence the oral health of residents of the area. How might this impact dentistry provision in the area?

11. Reflect Well - the Aberdeen Dentistry selectors love reflection, make sure that you are good at not just stating what you have learnt, but also how this helped and what you benefitted from, and what you will carry forward about this at dental school and in clinical Dentistry. This is especially true when reflecting on your dental work experience during the dentistry interview, or if you are applying with low grades to study dentistry or have taken a gap year before applying to study dentistry or via dentistry clearing.

12. Practice Role Plays: Role plays are unique to Dentistry MMI interviews as they do not tend to occur in panel interviews. The only way to ace these stations is to practice! There are so many different Dentistry role-play scenarios that can come up, it is paramount that you read about tips for answering role-play scenarios. You might want to also consider practising this with a Dentistry interview tutor, or booking a 1-1 online mock interview.

13. Don’t over-rehearse - this is a common theme amongst interview students and is very obvious to a trained examiner. As such, we would recommend focusing on the structure of your answer, and then naturally letting it flow when speaking to the answers, concentrating on the delivery of your interview answers. Read about our top tips for Dentistry interviews here. If you are struggling with this, consider booking sessions with an expert Dentistry interview tutor or via one of our Dentistry Application Packages.

14. Learning about the non-academic societies at Aberdeen is important and might augment your Why Dentistry question as well as help you formulate an answer to how you will contribute to life at Aberdeen University. Spend time on their website, or looking at their Instagram for ideas about societies that you could think about joining.

15. Learn dental ethics & NHS Hot Topics - you will likely be asked about dental ethics at a Dentistry interview at Aberdeen, so there is no excuse not to brush up on your knowledge on these topics. Learn how to provide a balanced argument. Check out some of our free articles on NHS Hot Topics and our ultimate guide to applying to dentistry here. It is good if you have an opinion on them, as long as you present a balanced and well-reasoned argument, which side you choose does not matter but is helpful to have. Check out our bank of 200+ Dentistry interview questions.

16. Learn the NHS Core Values - This can be drawn into different answers about personal qualities or qualities of a dentist, which has formed a feature of stations in the past, and a good understanding of these core values will help you stand out against others. It is important to know about the NHS in general for your dental interviews - read our article here on this.

17. Good dental Practice - Aberdeen also emphasises knowing the values and qualities of a good dentist, which can be found in this document and are likely to come up at the interview in the MMI stations. This is universal to many universities, and something that we always recommend students cover during their Dentistry interview preparation.