Harvard School of Dental Medicine (DMD) Dentistry Interview — Format, Questions & Prep Tips

HSDM students take first-year courses at Harvard Medical School. How do you think about dentistry as a medical discipline, and why does that integration matter to you?

Oral-systemic health connections: periodontal disease and cardiovascular risk, diabetes and periodontitis, oral cancer and HPV, and head-and-neck anatomy. Show you see dentistry as part of medicine, not a separate trade.

Every HSDM student is expected to conduct research. What scholarly question in dentistry or oral biology would you want to pursue, and what draws you to it?

The question does not need to be finalised — but you should have genuine intellectual curiosity about an oral health or biomedical question. Reference HSDM research areas: oral oncology, salivary diagnostics, biomaterials.

Dental care is the most frequently cited unmet health need in the US. What do you think explains this, and what is the dental profession's obligation to address it?

Dental insurance coverage (most Americans lack it), the fee-for-service payment model, geographic maldistribution of dentists, and the historical separation of dental and medical care. HSDM trains dentist-leaders who are expected to think systemically.

Describe a time you helped someone understand a health concept they were resistant to or confused by. What did you learn about communication in a healthcare context?

Dentist-patient communication is notoriously challenging — dental anxiety, dental phobia, and patient non-compliance are pervasive. Show you have reflected on how to build trust in a clinical communication context.

A patient needs a crown that her insurance covers only partially, leaving her with a $1,200 copay she says she cannot afford. You know that a less optimal but covered option exists. How do you approach this conversation?

Informed consent, patient autonomy, financial counseling, treatment alternatives, and the ethics of recommending ideal vs. affordable care. The fee-for-service dental model creates this tension constantly.

A patient who has avoided the dentist for years because of severe dental anxiety has finally come in with significant decay and is visibly shaking in the chair. Talk with her before you begin.

Dental anxiety and phobia are pervasive. Use a calm, non-judgmental tone, explain each step, signal that she controls the pace and can stop at any time, and build trust before treatment. Empathy without minimizing the clinical need is the skill HSDM looks for.

A parent insists their seven-year-old does not need a recommended filling because 'they're just baby teeth.' Respond to the parent.

Educate without condescension on the role of primary teeth in spacing, function, and pain, and the risk to the developing dentition. Use plain language, respect the parent, and confirm understanding rather than lecturing.

You are shown US data where untreated tooth decay rates are several times higher among low-income adults than higher-income adults. What might explain this, and what would you want to know?

Read it through dental-insurance gaps (most Americans lack coverage), the fee-for-service model, geographic maldistribution of dentists, water fluoridation, and diet environment. Distinguish association from causation — HSDM trains dentist-leaders to think systemically about access.

Why dentistry rather than medicine, given that HSDM would let you train alongside medical students for a full year? What specifically draws you to the mouth as your field of care?

Make a positive case for dentistry on its own terms — the blend of manual craft and biomedical science, longitudinal relationships, and visible outcomes — while showing you genuinely value the medical integration. Avoid framing dentistry as 'medicine but narrower.'

Describe how you have developed your manual dexterity and fine-motor precision, and why those skills matter for dentistry.

Concrete examples — instruments, art, crafts, surgery, music, or lab work — and honest reflection on building precision under time pressure. Connect dexterity to patient safety and the quality of restorative work.

Describe a research or scholarly project you have done. What was the question, and what would you change with hindsight?

HSDM is the only US dental school that expects every student to conduct research. Show intellectual ownership and self-criticism, and ideally connect the project to an oral-biology or biomedical question you could pursue at Harvard.

A patient requests an expensive cosmetic procedure they do not clinically need while neglecting active decay you have flagged. How do you handle it?

Balance patient autonomy with the duty to inform and prioritize health. Explain the clinical risks, document the conversation, and respect an informed choice while ensuring she understands the consequences of leaving decay untreated.

Dental Medicaid reimburses so poorly that many private dentists decline Medicaid patients. What does this mean for low-income patients, and what is the profession's responsibility?

The dental access crisis, FQHC and dental-school clinics as safety nets, and the profession's obligation to advocate for adequate reimbursement rather than simply opting out. HSDM expects systemic thinking on oral-health equity.

Explain to a patient with no science background why their gum disease might matter for their diabetes or heart health.

Plain language on the oral-systemic connection — periodontal inflammation and its links to glycaemic control and cardiovascular risk — without jargon, and check understanding. This integration is the defining feature of an HSDM education.

Tell me about the experience that first made you certain you wanted to be a dentist, and how it shaped what kind of clinician you want to become.

A specific, reflective story — shadowing, a personal dental experience, or hands-on work — that reveals genuine motivation and a realistic understanding of the profession's daily reality, not an idealised version.