Dentistry at University of Glasgow Dental School (A200 BDS)

🎓 Glasgow Dentistry Interview Questions & Topics for 2023 & 2024 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 2023

• 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 - Past, Recent & Likely Questions 2023

Motivation to study Dentistry

1. Why Dentistry?

2. Why Glasgow?

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 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. 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 & 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 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. 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. What interests do you have that has allowed you to develop your manual dexterity?

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

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

8. Example role play station (from the Glasgow Dental website): You have recently started University and have been working hard on your first assignment which is due for submission shortly. You mention to a classmate that you are nervous about the assignment. Your classmate replies that they are not nervous as they have found a website where you can pay someone to write an essay for you, which is guaranteed to pass. How do you respond to this? An actor will play the part of your classmate.

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 would you react to this situation?

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

🗣️ Glasgow Dentistry Interview Tips for 2023 entry

1. 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.

2. How to answer the “Why Glasgow” question. Make sure that you can differentiate Glasgow from other dental schools in the UK. Model answer - “I am eager to attend Glasgow Dental School because of its unique strengths and values. The school's emphasis on practical, hands-on training and its use of cutting-edge technology aligns with my own desire to be a skilled and innovative practitioner. Furthermore, I am drawn to the school's commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion, as well as its strong focus on community engagement and outreach. The school's location in the vibrant city of Glasgow also presents exciting opportunities for personal and professional growth. I am confident that studying at Glasgow Dental School will provide me with a comprehensive and enriching education, preparing me to become a compassionate, competent, and socially conscious dentist.”

3. Practice Manual Dexterity stations - Assessing manual dexterity can be achieved either through practical testing or by questioning individuals about their extracurricular activities. It is important to strive for continual improvement in manual dexterity, and to reflect on one's progress and learning. Engaging in activities such as painting, knitting, drawing, sewing, cross-stitching, crocheting, origami, or playing a musical instrument can aid in developing and enhancing manual dexterity.

4. Dress well - What to wear for your Glasgow Dental Interview - Glasgow 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 Glasgow as there are various documents they ask you to bring on the day.

5. 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.

6. Have examples ready to use: many of the questions asked at Glasgow 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.

7. Personal Attributes - Glasgow 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. Glasgow 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. 

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. MMI Stations - remember that each MMI station at Glasgow 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.

11. Know the Glasgow 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 Glasgow 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 Glasgow - this can be an advantage!

12. Know the local area - Glasgow is a diverse region of Scotland, with a number of local factors and diseases that differentiate the Glasgow 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?

13. Reflect Well - the Glasgow 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.

14. 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.

15. Learning about the non-academic societies at Glasgow 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 Glasgow University. Spend time on their website, or looking at their Instagram for ideas about societies that you could think about joining.

16. Learn dental ethics & NHS Hot Topics - you will likely be asked about dental ethics at a Dentistry interview at Glasgow, 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.

17. 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.

18. Good dental Practice - Glasgow 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.