Dentistry at University of Manchester Dental School (A200 BDS)

🎓 Manchester Dentistry Interview Questions & Topics for 2024 & 2025 Entry

Manchester Dental School looks for the following qualities in their interview applicants:

• Ability to communicate: Candidates should be able to express their ideas clearly and coherently and follow a reasoned argument. Spontaneous yet well-thought-out answers are preferred over-rehearsed responses.

• Genuine motivation for dentistry: Applicants should provide specific evidence of experiences that influenced their decision to study dentistry, rather than giving coached or practised answers.

• Previous experience: Work experiences in various environments, not necessarily traditional dentistry settings, are highly valued. Applicants should be able to discuss the facts, details, emotional responses, and lessons gained from these experiences.

• Ethical awareness: Candidates should be able to coherently summarise ethical issues and engage in ethical debates. There are no right or wrong answers, and interviewers are not looking for a specific viewpoint.

• Tolerance and acceptance: Applicants are expected to be tolerant, accepting, and understanding of others. They should respect diversity and be able to discuss personal experiences to inform discussions if desired.

During the interview, applicants will be asked about their motivation for pursuing dentistry, seeking specific experiences that influenced their decision. Work experience, not limited to traditional dentistry environments, is highly valued.

Candidates should discuss their experiences, emotional responses, and lessons learned. Ethical issues may be discussed to assess coherent reasoning, without expecting a specific viewpoint. Applicants should demonstrate tolerance, acceptance, and understanding, and may share personal experiences to inform discussions if desired.

In summary, Manchester Dental School seeks to offer places to applicants who possess strong communication skills, genuine motivation for dentistry, diverse experiences, ethical awareness, and a tolerant and accepting attitude.

💯 Manchester MMI Interview Questions Scoring in 2024 & 2025 Entry

• Candidates will not be provided with information in advance and there will be no reading or writing component to any of our interview stations.

• The station where you start will be allocated at random, and you will then pass round in order from station to station until you have completed them all.

• Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their Manchester application by 31 March.

❓  Manchester Interview Questions - Past, Recent & Likely Questions 2024 & 2025 Entry

Motivation to study Dentistry

1. Why Dentistry?

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

3. Why Manchester?

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

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

6. What is the role of prevention in dentistry?

7. What do you know about the Manchester Dentistry course? How is it taught?

8. Why Dentistry and not medicine or nursing?

9. What are your hobbies?

10. Are there any societies you would like to join in Manchester?

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. When did you last confront someone?

7. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

8. How would your friends describe you?

9. How would you handle complaints and criticism?

10. Have you ever received any awards or recognition for your hobbies or interests?

11. How do your hobbies help you manage stress and unwind after a long day?

12. Do you prefer pursuing hobbies alone or with others? Why?

13. Can you share an experience where you bonded with someone over a shared hobby or interest?

14. Do you think it's important for couples or friends to share common hobbies or interests? Why or why not?

15. Have you ever tried learning a new skill or hobby just to bond with someone or make new friends? How did it go?

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

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

18. 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 Manchester?

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. What is the most important NHS value and why?

9. You know a friend has cheated on their final exams at Dental school. What would you do?

10. Your dental surgery is struggling financially so you need to cut down on services. What would you get rid of and why?

🗣️ Manchester Dentistry Interview Tips for 2024 & 2025 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 Manchester” question. Make sure that you can differentiate Manchester from other dental schools in the UK. Model answer - “I have chosen Manchester Dental School for several reasons. Firstly, I am attracted to the school's state-of-the-art facilities, including the Dental Hospital and School, which are equipped with the latest technology and resources to enhance student learning and clinical experience. The school's Clinical Skills Laboratory, which provides a simulated clinical environment for students to practice their skills, is also impressive. In addition, Manchester Dental School's curriculum places a strong emphasis on research, which is a priority for me. The school's close ties with the Manchester Dental Research Centre and the Manchester Centre for Oral Health and Research, provide numerous opportunities for students to engage in cutting-edge research projects and contribute to advancing the field of dentistry. Furthermore, Manchester Dental School has a reputation for providing students with extensive clinical experience from the outset, allowing us to develop our practical skills and knowledge under the guidance of experienced faculty members. The school's outreach programs also provide opportunities to work with diverse patient populations and gain valuable experience in community dental practice. Finally, I appreciate Manchester Dental School's commitment to promoting inclusivity and diversity, which aligns with my personal values. The school's active student societies, such as the Manchester Dental Students' Society, provide opportunities to engage with fellow students and participate in extracurricular activities that contribute to a well-rounded dental education. Overall, I am confident that Manchester Dental School's strong focus on research, commitment to clinical excellence, and dedication to promoting inclusivity and diversity, make it the ideal institution for me to achieve my academic and career goals in dentistry.”

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 Manchester Dental Interview - Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 - Manchester 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. Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester - this can be an advantage!

12. Know the local area - Manchester is a diverse region of England, with a number of local factors and diseases that differentiate the Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 in Manchester, 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 - Manchester 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.