Curtin Oral Health Therapy Dentistry Interview — Format, Questions & Prep Tips

(Self-clarification — Curtin OHT does not interview) Why Oral Health Therapy specifically, rather than the BDS or DMD path?

Curtin does not run an interview, so this is for your own clarity (and for any graduate-entry DMD interview later if you pursue that path). Engage with OHT scope on its own terms — preventive care, paediatric dental care, periodontal therapy, public-system workforce role — rather than as a stepping-stone to dentistry.

Why Curtin OHT specifically, rather than another OHT program (UWA, La Trobe, Charles Sturt OHT or Adelaide OHT)?

Engage with the Bentley campus, WA Health placement network, the Aboriginal Medical Service partnerships and the community-clinic case-mix. WA-specific context.

What is the difference between an Oral Health Therapist and a dentist? Why does the OHT scope appeal to you?

Concrete: OHT covers hygiene + dental therapy (preventive care, periodontal therapy, paediatric care up to age 17, oral health education). Dentists cover the full restorative, prosthodontic, surgical and adult-restorative scope. OHTs work in collaborative dental teams under a dentist for adults.

A parent at a WA Health school dental clinic asks for cosmetic work on their 12-year-old's healthy teeth. As an OHT, how would you respond?

Autonomy of the parent, non-maleficence for the child, AHPRA Dental Board guidance for OHT scope, referral to a dentist if the request goes beyond OHT scope.

Closing the Gap targets continue to lag for Aboriginal oral health across WA. What role can a Curtin OHT graduate play?

Concrete: Derbarl Yerrigan (Perth metro AMS), Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, school dental services in remote WA, cultural safety, AHPRA cultural responsibilities.

Role-play: reassure a child anxious about their first dental visit at a WA Health school dental clinic.

Child-friendly language. Tell-show-do. Parental coaching. Patience. OHTs are paediatric specialists by default — this is core scope.

Explain Medicare's Child Dental Benefits Schedule to a family in Rockingham.

Plain language. Concrete dollar example. Eligibility (under 18 in a family receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A). OHT-scope-relevant.

Tell us about your manual dexterity. How do you know OHT will suit you?

Concrete: fine motor hobbies, music, model-making, prior school dental volunteering. OHT clinical practice is highly manual.

Should the Australian dental workforce expand the proportion of Oral Health Therapists relative to dentists?

Engage with workforce planning, prevention-vs-treatment, public-system reliance, the equity argument for OHT-led care in rural communities. Balanced reasoning.

What concerns you most about a career as an OHT?

Honest: scope-of-practice limits, the dentist-supervision model for adult care, business-side employment dynamics, the public-private split.

How would you communicate with a patient whose first language is not English?

Plain language, interpreter use, family involvement where appropriate.

You notice your supervising dentist consistently overstates treatment needs in private practice. As a graduate OHT, what do you do?

AHPRA Dental Board notification framework, duty of candour, escalation routes (supervisor, AHPRA, employer compliance). Concrete and graduated.

What is your understanding of dental access in outer-metropolitan and rural WA?

Engage with the metro-CBD vs outer-metro vs remote gap, the role of public OHT-led clinics, the school dental service network, AMS oral-health teams.

Describe a time you worked in a team in a culturally diverse setting.

Process focus. Cross-cultural competence.

Some Curtin OHT graduates pursue a graduate-entry DMD later. Is that part of your plan, or are you committed to OHT long-term?

Honest. Either answer is acceptable as long as it is genuine. OHT is a 3-year program with strong public-system employment outcomes; many graduates stay in OHT for full careers.