Skip to main content
NextGen MedPrep logoNextGenMedPrep
MedicineDentistry

UK Dental Schools That Use Panel Interviews

2027 Entry · 6 schools

Panel interviews are a single-room format where 2-4 interviewers ask a structured sequence of questions over 20-40 minutes. In UK dentistry they are used by a handful of schools — including King's College London and Newcastle — and reward applicants who develop a coherent answer under follow-up rather than darting between stations.

What to expect
6
Schools
2–4
Interviewers
20–40 min
Duration
4–6
Themes

What to expect at a panel interview

You sit opposite a panel of 2-4 interviewers — typically a clinical dentist, an academic, and sometimes a current dental student. The lead interviewer usually opens with a motivation question ("why dentistry rather than medicine?"), and each panellist takes turns over the next 20-40 minutes covering different themes — manual-dexterity interests, work-experience reflection, dental ethics and consent, NHS-versus-private awareness, and how you would handle an anxious patient. King's College London runs a shorter two-interviewer remote panel. Discussion is more conversational than an MMI but still scored against a fixed mark scheme.

Typical structure

  • 2-4 interviewers in a single room (clinical dentist + academic, sometimes a dental student)
  • 20-40 minute total duration, structured around 4-6 themes
  • Themes: motivation for dentistry, manual dexterity, work experience, dental ethics & consent, NHS dentistry, handling anxious patients
  • King's College London runs a shorter two-interviewer remote panel
  • Scored against a fixed mark scheme but allows more conversational follow-up than an MMI

What assessors look for

Panel interviewers value coherence — your answers should build on each other across the interview, showing a consistent motivation for dentistry specifically (not medicine) and growing self-insight. Strong candidates pause briefly before answering, link new points back to earlier experiences, reference the manual precision and long-term patient relationships that define dentistry, and engage every panellist with eye contact rather than only the lead questioner.

UK dental schools that use the Panel

6 UK dental schools use the Panel for 2027 Entry. Click a school for the full how-to-get-in guide including UCAT cut-offs, NGMP TrueScore prediction, and Panel-specific interview prep.

  • Bristol

    Bristol · Established 1828

    Structured panel-style interview (Zoom, remote)

    TrueScore
    2280+
    home

  • King's College London (KCL)

    London · Established 1829

    Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI)

    TrueScore
    2050+
    home

  • Newcastle

    Newcastle · Established 1834

    Online semi-structured panel interview with two selectors (~20 min)

    TrueScore
    2080+
    home

  • Queen Mary (QMUL)

    London · Established 1843

    Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)

    TrueScore
    2070+
    home

  • Queen's University Belfast

    Belfast · Established 1845

    MMI / panel format

    TrueScore
    1750+
    home

  • Sheffield

    Sheffield · Established 1898

    Semi-structured face-to-face 15 min in-person panel + group task (Feb 20–27)

    TrueScore
    2050+
    home

Frequently asked questions

Six UK dental schools use a panel format as their primary interview for the 2027 entry cycle: Bristol, King's College London, Newcastle, Queen Mary (QMUL), Queen's University Belfast and Sheffield. Most other UK dental schools use the MMI.

Most run 20-40 minutes with 2-4 interviewers. King's College London uses a shorter two-interviewer remote panel, while Newcastle and Bristol tend to be longer and in person.

Usually 2-4 people: a clinical dentist (often a consultant or admissions tutor), an academic, and sometimes a current dental student or a widening-participation lead. Each panellist typically scores independently.

The format is the same, but the content is dentistry-specific: expect questions on why dentistry over medicine, manual-dexterity hobbies, NHS-versus-private dental care, consent and confidentiality, and managing anxious or paediatric patients. Some schools fold SJT-style scenarios into the discussion.

Usually yes — the hands-on dexterity station is an MMI feature. Panel schools instead probe your manual-dexterity interests verbally (hobbies, crafts, fine-motor activities) and how you have reflected on the precision dentistry demands.

Plan ~30-50 hours: rehearse a 90-second "why dentistry" answer and 5-7 reflective experience stories, study each school's scoring weightings (King's leans heavily on GCSEs and contextual points), read round NHS-dentistry hot topics, and do at least 3 full mock panels with feedback. Our panel-interview prep programme covers all of this.

Master the Panel with NextGen MedPrep

Structured prep, mock circuits with current dental-student tutors, and a question bank covering every common station type.

Book a mock Panel Panel prep guide
Reviewed by Isaac Butler-King, medical student at the University of Glasgow. Last reviewed: 2 June 2026