Dentistry at University of Glasgow Dental School (A200 BDS) 2026

Minimum age requirements

Glasgow publishes no minimum age for its BDS. The only age rule on its pages is university-wide and applies to international applicants who need a visa and will be under 18 on 1 August, who must supply a parental consent form. Check directly with the Dental School if you would start under 18.

Glasgow Dentistry Interview Questions & Topics for 2026 Entry

Several topics are more likely to come up at the University of Glasgow Dental School MMI Interview, which can be derived from past Glasgow MMI stations and information on their website.

What do Glasgow look for at their dentistry A200 BDS interview?

• Each station looks at a particular characteristic or competency that they have deemed to be required for Dentistry.
• There are 3 station types:
• A role-play station
• Discussion station
• A practical station

During the MMI's, they are looking for applicants to demonstrate characteristics which are important for the dental profession including being able to:

• Be diligent and ethical
• Demonstrate having a caring nature, are empathetic and respectful of the views of others
• Demonstrate good communication skills
• Work in a team and have the capacity to act as a leader
• Be self-critical and self-motivating
• Capable of independent thinking
• Plan and think on the spot and enjoy problem-solving
• Show strong evidence of manual dexterity, creativity and spatial awareness.

Glasgow MMI Interview Questions Scoring in 2026 Entry

• At the end of the MMI's, your score for each station will be added together to give you a total score.
• Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their Glasgow application by 31 March.

Glasgow Interview Questions - 2026 Entry

These are suggested practice questions based on publicly available information and past trends. They are not official questions from the University and may not appear in your interview. Use them as part of a broader preparation strategy.

Motivation to study Dentistry

1. Why Dentistry?
2. Why Glasgow?
3. What did you learn from your dental work experience about the relationship between a dentist and their patients?
4. What qualities of a dentist did you see from your dental work experience?
5. What is the role of prevention in dentistry?
6. What do you know about the Glasgow Dentistry course? How is it taught?
7. Why do you think you will be well suited to this course?
8. Why Dentistry and not medicine or nursing?
9. What are your hobbies?
10. Are there any societies you would like to join in Glasgow?

Personal Insight/Qualities

1. Why should patients trust you?
2. Are you good at simplifying ideas?
3. How would your friends describe you?
4. What are your best qualities?
5. How do you manage stress?
6. How can you illustrate to us that you are a good leader?
7. Tell us about a time you adapted your approach when something didn't go to plan.
8. Give us an example of a time when you demonstrated teamwork.
9. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
10. What would the people who know you best say sets you apart?
11. If a supervisor pointed out something you could improve in the way you work, how would you take that on board?
12. Tell us about a setback you worked through. Why does the ability to recover matter for a career in dentistry?
13. If you have a creative or hands-on hobby, what does it involve and how does it keep your hands steady and precise?
14. Tell us about an article that you have recently read.

Dental Situations

1. How would you reason about treating a child when you and the parent disagree on the best course of action?
2. A patient is unhappy with dental work done elsewhere. How would you handle the conversation and plan next steps?
3. If a member of the public faints during a community oral-health screening event, how would you assess them?

NHS & Local Area

1. How does the Care Quality Commission help to assure the quality and safety of dental services?
2. Why are certain dental procedures treated with extra infection-control precautions, and what do those precautions involve?
3. What is the role of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in shaping clinical guidance?
4. What does the General Dental Council do, and why does it matter to patients?
5. What do you understand about how NHS dental treatment is funded and banded for patients?
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 Glasgow?
10. What are the main challenges facing the future of dentistry in the UK?
11. What are the greatest challenges facing healthcare as a whole, and dentistry in particular?
12. How has COVID changed the way that dental practices operate?
13. How does oral health differ here compared to other areas in the UK?

Ethical Scenarios

1. Understanding of the four ethical principles
2. Do you think the way a dentist explains risks and costs at the start of treatment affects how much patients trust them?
3. If you became aware that a colleague's behaviour was putting patient safety at risk, what would you do?
4. Who can you escalate concerns to within a practice?

Other Stations including Manual Dexterity

1. How much do you think a dentist needs to understand the science behind the materials and equipment they use day to day?
2. Talk us through an item of news you have read recently - who wrote it, and what point were they making?
3. Photo: an image of healthy versus diseased gums - describe the differences you can see here.
4. Describe a hobby that trains your fingers to make small, accurate movements, and how you have improved at it.
5. What interests do you have that has allowed you to develop your manual dexterity?
6. How do you cope when a delicate, hands-on task does not go right the first time?
7. Role play: you are waiting with a patient while the dentist steps out to collect notes; keep the patient at ease with general conversation.
8. Example role play station (from the Glasgow Dental website): You are partway through a group laboratory project that counts towards your final mark. You realise one teammate has copied a section of their write-up directly from an online source and presented it as their own. They ask you to keep quiet about it. How do you respond? An actor will play the part of your teammate.
9. Example role play station (from the Glasgow Dental website): A 15 year old girl attends your practice with her Mother and is complaining of toothache. After your initial examination, you decide to take an x-ray of the tooth. As part of the routine procedure you ask the patient if there is any chance she could be pregnant. She originally says no, but once her Mother has left the room informs you that she has recently discovered that she is pregnant and is scared that the treatment may harm her baby. How might you handle a scenario like this?

👉🏼 Read more: 230+ Dentistry Interview Questions

How to prepare for your University of Glasgow dentistry interview (2026 entry)

1. Glasgow runs a panel-style interview that candidates consistently describe as a warm, conversational exchange rather than an interrogation, so treat it as a chance to let your personality come through. Rehearse speaking naturally to two or three interviewers at once with our [practice dentistry interview questions](/application-guide/dentistry/dental-school-practice-interview-questions) so the conversational tone feels familiar.
2. Be ready for a strong emphasis on personal-insight and personal-attribute questions, past applicants report being asked how they handle a large workload, how they prioritise competing tasks and how they cope with stress, with very few clinical or ethical scenarios. Build a bank of reflective examples and pressure-test them on our [free mock interview generator](#mock-interviews) on this page.
3. Glasgow likes to probe your values directly: candidates have been asked point-blank what their core values are and even what "kind things" they do for others, which can throw the unprepared. Prepare two or three concrete stories that show compassion, integrity and teamwork in action rather than reciting abstract virtues, and refine them in a [1-1 dentistry interview coaching](/dentistry-interview-coaching) session.
4. Expect at least one question that explicitly targets manual dexterity, since fine motor skill is fundamental to the BDS (course code A200) at Glasgow. Have a specific hobby ready, sewing, model-making, playing an instrument, art, and be able to link the dexterity, hand-eye coordination and patience it builds to clinical dentistry, which you can read more about in our [career in dentistry guide](/application-guide/dentistry/a-career-in-dentistry).
5. Know why Glasgow specifically, beyond "it's a good university". Reference features such as its early patient contact and integrated clinical teaching at the Glasgow Dental Hospital & School, and tie them to how you learn best so your answer can't be copy-pasted to any other school. Our [compare UK dental schools hub](/guide/dental-school/dentistry-university-uk) helps you pin down what makes Glasgow distinct.
6. Glasgow draws heavily on criticism and resilience questions, one applicant was asked about a time they received criticism and how they responded. Prepare a genuine example using a reflective structure (what happened, how you felt, what you changed) so you demonstrate growth rather than defensiveness. Our [ultimate MMI preparation guide](/application-guide/interview/mmi-medicine-interview-preparation-guide) has reflective frameworks that transfer directly to a panel setting.
7. Problem-solving comes up as its own theme at Glasgow, sometimes as a "describe a time you solved a difficult problem" prompt rather than an abstract puzzle. Have a worked example that shows your thinking step-by-step, and rehearse talking through your reasoning out loud, which you can drill with our [200+ dentistry interview Q&A guide](/product-page/ultimate-dentistry-interview-questions-answers-guide).
8. Although applicants report Glasgow leaning away from formal ethics scenarios, you should still understand the GDC's Standards for the Dental Team and core principles like consent, confidentiality and patient-centred care, a values-driven panel can easily fold these into a conversation. Brush up with our guide to [answering ethics interview questions](/application-guide/interview/answering-medical-ethics-interview-questions).
9. Be prepared to reflect meaningfully on your work experience rather than just listing placements; a conversational panel will dig into what you observed about the dentist-patient relationship and the realities of NHS dental practice. Use our [dentistry work experience guide](/application-guide/dentistry/dentistry-work-experience-ultimate-guide) to convert observations into the kind of insight Glasgow rewards.
10. Have an informed, balanced view on current NHS dentistry issues, access problems in underserved communities, the recruitment and retention crisis, and the particular challenges of NHS provision in Scotland and rural areas Glasgow serves. Show awareness without ranting, and connect it to why you want to train and practise here, drawing on our [career in dentistry and training pathway](/application-guide/dentistry/a-career-in-dentistry) overview.
11. Expect your personal statement to be fair game on a panel that already has it in front of them, so reread it the night before and be ready to expand on any claim, especially any experiences or motivations you mention. If you want a second pair of eyes before interview, our [dentistry personal statement help](/dentistry-personal-statement) and the [dentistry personal statement guide](/application-guide/dentistry/ultimate-dentistry-personal-statement-guide) cover how to defend your statement aloud.
12. Because the Glasgow panel can feel casual, candidates sometimes under-prepare and give thin, one-line answers, the friendly tone is not a licence to wing it. Practise extending each answer with a relevant example and a short reflection, and get structured feedback through our [full dentistry application packages](/dentistry-application-packages).
13. Note that role-play is less central at Glasgow than at MMI-heavy schools, but communication is still assessed throughout the conversation, make eye contact with each panel member, listen fully before answering, and avoid jargon. You can still rehearse clear, empathetic communication using scenarios in our [ultimate MMI preparation guide](/application-guide/interview/mmi-medicine-interview-preparation-guide).
14. Make sure you genuinely understand the realities of the dentistry training pathway and entry requirements before you sit down, so your motivation sounds grounded rather than idealised, Glasgow's values-led questions reward applicants who know what they are signing up for. Review our guide on [how to become a dentist and entry requirements](/application-guide/dentistry/how-to-become-a-dentist-and-dentistry-entry-requirements-uk).
15. Finally, do a full timed run-through under realistic conditions a few days before your Glasgow interview, then book a targeted mock with a tutor to iron out weak answers. Combine the [free mock interview generator](#mock-interviews) above with one-to-one [dentistry interview coaching](/dentistry-interview-coaching) so you walk in calm, conversational and specific.