Does the University of Otago interview dentistry applicants?

Otago is New Zealand's only dental school. Its interview is a structured panel held by Zoom, so prepare across the core types: motivation for dentistry, ethics, communication and your personal qualities, with an eye on equity and Māori health in New Zealand.

Do I need to prepare a "Why this university?" answer?

Yes. Even where it is not a station of its own, interviewers ask it inside motivation questions, and an answer that would fit any school scores poorly. For the school, prepare specific reasons covering how it teaches, where it places students and why that suits you.

How many questions should I practise before my interview?

Aim for breadth before depth: at least two or three questions of every type in your plan, answered out loud and timed, then more on the types your schools test most. Rehearsing set answers word for word tends to backfire, because follow-up questions push past them. Working through many different questions of each type builds the flexibility assessors reward.

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Question planner Dentistry · 2027

What will your interviews ask?Practise the right questions for Otago.

University of Otago is New Zealand's only dental school. See how it interviews and the questions to practise.

Add the universities you’re applying to

We’ll show how each one interviews and what to practise.

School 1

Free · No sign-up · 1 New Zealand dental schools mapped · 485 questions in the bank

How it works

From your school list to a practice plan

Interviews differ far more between schools than most applicants expect. The planner reads what each of yours actually runs, so your practice time goes where the marks are.

1
Each school's real format: MMI, panel, traditional or recorded, with the station count, timings and when interviews run, from our research of each school’s published format.
2
The question types, ranked: every station mapped to a question type, then ranked across your schools so the types they all test come first.
3
Locked practice questions, then a mock: real questions from the question bank for every type you need to practise, and a mock built for each school.

Question types

The question types New Zealand dental schools test

Ranked by how many New Zealand dental schools test each one. Open a type to see what assessors look for and how to practise it.

Why dentistry1/1

What they look for. A motivation for dentistry that is specific, tested against real experience and honest about the downsides of the job.

How to practise. Rehearse a two-minute answer built on one or two moments you can talk about in detail, then stress-test it with "why not nursing or dental hygiene?" follow-ups.

31 why dentistry questions in the bank

Ethics & professionalism1/1

What they look for. Balanced reasoning through a dilemma: weighing both sides, applying the core principles and landing on a safe, justified decision.

How to practise. Practise talking through consent, confidentiality, capacity and resource allocation out loud, using a structure such as "identify, explore, decide, safeguard".

146 ethics & professionalism questions in the bank

Empathy & role play1/1

What they look for. Communication with an actor or patient: listening, acknowledging feelings, explaining clearly and agreeing a next step.

How to practise. Run timed role plays with a friend playing an upset patient, relative or colleague, and get marked on empathy as well as content.

74 empathy & role play questions in the bank

Work experience & reflection1/1

What they look for. Reflection, not description: what you saw, what it taught you about the job and how it changed your view.

How to practise. Turn each placement or volunteering role into one short story with a clear lesson about patients, teams or yourself.

18 work experience & reflection questions in the bank

Research & academic reasoning1/1

What they look for. Academic curiosity: how you approach research and evidence, and how you reason through an unfamiliar problem.

How to practise. Be ready to explain any research you have done in plain language: the question, your role, the result and what you would do next.

41 research & academic reasoning questions in the bank

Hauora Māori & cultural safety1/1

What they look for. Understanding of Māori health, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and equity for Māori and Pacific patients, and what culturally safe care means.

How to practise. Learn the principles of Te Tiriti in health and prepare an example of adapting how you communicate with someone from a different background.

9 hauora māori & cultural safety questions in the bank

Rural & community health1/1

What they look for. Genuine interest in rural, remote or underserved communities and realism about practising there.

How to practise. Research the region’s health needs and prepare an honest answer on whether you would work there and why.

14 rural & community health questions in the bank

Every school

Every New Zealand dental school's interview at a glance

Each school's format and the question types it tests most. Open a school's guide for timings and more example questions.

New Zealand1 school

University of OtagoStructured Zoom panel interview (late September–early October)
Ethics & professionalismWhy dentistryEmpathy & role play+4
Guide

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Practise by question type rather than memorising answers. Almost every New Zealand dental school tests your motivation for dentistry, ethical reasoning, communication and empathy, teamwork and your personal qualities, and most also ask why you chose that school and what you know about the health system and current issues. What changes from school to school is the mix and the format: Auckland uses a recorded online MMI with a station on Māori health, while Otago interviews only some of its applicants, through a panel. Choose your schools in the planner to see the exact mix for each one, with practice questions for every type.

Each school's format and station topics come from our research of its own admissions pages for the current cycle, the same research our university-specific mocks are built from. Where a school publishes its format but not its topics, the planner says so and shows the ground that kind of interview usually covers. Practice questions come from the interview question bank. Schools change details between cycles, so check your invitation for the final format.

NextGen MedPrep's interview question bank holds 485 dentistry questions, 20 of them written for New Zealand interviews, each with an answer guide covering the approach, follow-up questions and the mark scheme. You can also sit a mock built for a specific school, with our AI interviewer, with a friend marking you against the official scheme, or with a tutor who sat the same interview, and there is a free six-station mock to start with.

Now practise the questions that count

Every question type in your plan is in the interview question bank, with follow-ups and a mark scheme for each. Start with a free mock, then work through the types your schools test most.

Explore the question bank Try a free mock Interview preparation

Reviewed by Isaac Butler-King, medical student at the University of Glasgow. Last reviewed: 14 September 2026 · Editorial policy