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US Dentistry · 2027 Entry

Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) Dental School2027 Entry Requirements & Interview Format

Location Pomona, CA, United StatesEstablished 2009Interviews October–MarchDecisions Rolling admissions
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Full guide

How to get into Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) dentistry

Step-by-step: entry requirements, DAT prep, personal statement, interview format and the key deadlines.

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Interview guide

Prepare for the Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) interview

Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions, FAQs and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.

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Overview

About Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD)

Western University College of Dental Medicine (WesternU CDM), founded in 2009, is a private dental school located at the Western University of Health Sciences Pomona campus in the Inland Empire, California. WesternU CDM is designed as an interprofessional health sciences dental program — dental students learn alongside osteopathic medical students, pharmacy students, nurses, and other health professionals from the first year. The school emphasizes whole-person health care and prepares graduates for collaborative, team-based practice environments.

What makes it different

Applications via ADEA AADSAS. WesternU CDM's interprofessional education model is its defining feature — true shared coursework with DO, PharmD, and other students creates genuine collaborative learning. The Inland Empire location provides access to a large, diverse, and underserved patient population in the San Bernardino/Riverside county area.

Course & teaching

Integrated curriculum. 4-year DMD curriculum built around interprofessional education — dental students share foundational science coursework with osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, and other health professions students in Years 1–2. Clinical training at WesternU's on-campus dental clinic and affiliated community sites in the Inland Empire in Years 2–4.

Research strengths

Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) has notable research strength in Interprofessional health education, Oral-systemic health, Community dentistry, Oral biology, Dental biomaterials.

Interview

Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) interviews via MMI or traditional interview at Pomona, CA campus. Western University College of Dental Medicine conducts MMI-style or traditional interviews at its Pomona, California campus in the Inland Empire. Interview day involves multiple stations or sessions assessing communication, ethical reasoning, motivation for dentistry, and interprofessional health values. WesternU's Pomona campus includes osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and allied health programs — interviewers actively probe applicants' interest in interprofessional collaboration. Manual dexterity evidence, dental shadowing experience, and the oral-systemic health connection are assessed. Rolling decisions issued after the interview cycle.

Intake

Approximately 70 students per year.

At a glance

Founded in 2009, based in Pomona, CA. Programmes offered: General Dentistry, Oral-Systemic Health, Pediatric Dentistry, Community Dentistry, Interprofessional Healthcare.

Entry requirements

What you need to apply to Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD)

Admission overview
Bachelor's degree and DAT required. Applications via ADEA AADSAS. No California residency preference — private institution. Genuine interest in interprofessional healthcare and whole-person health care expected. Manual dexterity documentation, dental shadowing, and community health experience valued.
GPA median
3.58 overall / 3.52 science (BCPM)
Acceptance rate
6.0%
Class size
69
In-state preference
None
CASPer
Required
AAMC PREview
Not required
Holistic review emphasis
Interprofessional healthcare orientation, oral-systemic health awareness, community health experience, dental experience, manual dexterity.
Notes
Estimates from publicly available ADEA AADSAS data; verify for current cycle. DAT Academic Average median approximately 19–21 (hedged). Private institution — no in-state preference.
Specialities offered
General Dentistry, Oral-Systemic Health, Pediatric Dentistry, Community Dentistry, Interprofessional Healthcare
Interview

How Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) interviews applicants

Format
MMI or traditional interview at Pomona, CA campus
Interview window
October–March
Decision date
Rolling admissions
Post-interview chances
Approximately 30–45% post-interview (estimated).
Tutor insight
WesternU CDM interviews reward applicants who can speak authentically about interprofessional healthcare collaboration. The ideal WesternU applicant has experienced or is genuinely excited about learning alongside future physicians, pharmacists, and nurses. Demonstrate awareness of how medication-dental interactions, oral complications of systemic disease, and shared patient cases make interprofessional dental education clinically relevant. Community health experience in the Inland Empire or similar underserved regions is a strong differentiator.
Practice

Practise for your Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) interview

PrometheusQuestion Bank485 dentistry questions inside

Interview questions matched to Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD)

Two questions our tutors flagged as a strong fit for Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD)’s interview style. Try answering them out loud, then open Prometheus for the model answers and follow-up tips.

MediumMMI · PanelQ1

Dexterity Under Mirror Vision: Adapting to Indirect Operative Dentistry

One of the most challenging motor adaptations in dental school is learning to work under mirror vision — using a dental mirror to visualize structures that you cannot see directly, and performing cutting and retraction movements in a mentally reversed spatial field. Many students find that their natural hand coordination fails them initially under mirror vision, and that building reliable indirect-vision dexterity requires sustained deliberate practice. Describe how you would approach the challenge of learning to work under mirror vision, how you would seek feedback from faculty during the learning process, and how the concept of deliberate practice applies to this specific challenge.

Likely follow-up · During your first simulation lab session requiring mirror vision, you complete a preparation that your faculty evaluator grades as inadequate in two out of three dimensions. Walk me through your emotional and practical response to receiving this feedback.

3 expert tips in Prometheus
MediumPanel · MMIQ2

Fluoride Policy: Defending Evidence-Based Public Health to a Skeptical Patient

Community water fluoridation at optimal levels (0.7 mg/L as recommended by CDC) has been a cornerstone of US public health dental policy since the 1940s and is credited by the CDC as one of the ten great public health achievements of the twentieth century. In recent years, anti-fluoride advocacy has grown on social media, CDC and ADA affirm the safety and effectiveness of community water fluoridation at the US recommended level of 0.7 mg/L, and WHO supports fluoridation as an effective caries-prevention measure at levels adapted to local climate and total intake. Do not cite the National Academies as endorsing fluoridation — it has issued no such affirmation. Its role was peer-reviewing NTP's draft fluoride monograph, where in 2021 it told NTP the draft "cannot be used to draw conclusions about low fluoride exposure concentrations, including those typically associated with drinking-water fluoridation." The final 2024 NTP monograph links reduced IQ to exposures at or above 1.5 mg/L — more than double the US level — and states that it "does not address whether the exposure to fluoride added to drinking water is associated with a measurable effect on IQ." That threshold, not an appeal to the National Academies, is the rebuttal to know.. A patient in your chair tells you they have stopped giving their children fluoridated water because of concerns about IQ effects they read about online. How do you respond?

Likely follow-up · The patient cites a 2012 Harvard meta-analysis that they say showed fluoride reduces IQ. How do you respond to a patient who has a specific scientific citation for their concern?

3 expert tips in Prometheus
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DAT & Admissions

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FAQ

Western University College of Dental Medicine (DMD) — frequently asked questions

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