Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (DMD) Dentistry Interview — Format, Questions & Prep Tips
Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry uses a traditional one-on-one faculty interview format at its North Philadelphia campus. Founded in 1863, Kornberg is one of the oldest dental schools in the US and one of the largest by clinical volume — its North Philadelphia clinic serves a predominantly low-income, ethnically diverse urban patient population.
The school’s community health mission is central to its identity, and interviewers probe candidates’ genuine awareness of and commitment to serving underserved urban communities. If you are motivated primarily by private practice in a wealthy suburban setting, Kornberg may not be your ideal match — and interviewers will sense that.
The school uses ADEA AADSAS. DAT is required. Across the four AAMC core competency domains — Thinking & Reasoning, Science, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal — Kornberg interviewers weight Interpersonal competencies and community health values especially highly.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Annual DMD class size
- ~210 — one of the largest in the US
- Interview format
- Traditional one-on-one faculty interview
- DAT required
- Yes — via ADEA AADSAS
- School type
- Private — no in-state preference
- Application system
- ADEA AADSAS primary + Temple secondary
- Interview window
- September–February
Interview Format
- Traditional one-on-one faculty interview, approximately 30–45 minutes.
- Clinic and simulation laboratory tour at Kornberg's large North Philadelphia complex.
- Interaction with current DMD students.
- Admissions information session.
Sample Interview Questions
Kornberg serves a predominantly low-income, underserved urban community in North Philadelphia. Why does that aspect of the school appeal to you?
Be honest and specific. If community dental care is genuinely part of your career vision, show it with examples. If you are primarily drawn by Philadelphia's location, say so but also demonstrate that the community mission resonates.
Why dentistry specifically — what experiences convinced you this was the right path?
Specific dental shadowing observations, patient interactions, or clinical moments. Avoid generic "I love science and helping people" answers.
A patient comes to Kornberg's clinic in severe pain but owes a balance from a previous visit. They cannot pay. What is the right approach?
Address emergency dental care obligations, sliding-scale payment options, patient communication, and the dental school clinic's role as a safety-net provider. Pain relief for urgent conditions is an ethical obligation regardless of outstanding balances.
How would you communicate a complex treatment plan to a patient who has very low dental health literacy and is overwhelmed?
Teach-back method, plain-language explanation, visual aids, phased treatment planning, and follow-up conversations. Kornberg's patient population makes this a daily clinical skill.
What areas of dentistry did your shadowing experience introduce you to, and what surprised you most about what you observed?
Show genuine clinical curiosity. The most compelling answers go beyond "I saw extractions and fillings" to reflect on what the dentist's diagnostic reasoning or patient relationship demonstrated.
You are treating a pediatric patient and notice signs of possible neglect — the child has extensive untreated decay and appears fearful. What do you do?
Mandatory reporting obligations, trauma-informed communication with the child, documentation, social services involvement. Oral health neglect in children is a reportable safeguarding concern.
Philadelphia has some of the highest rates of dental disease among urban US cities. What role do dental schools play in addressing this?
Community clinic access, dental student workforce, affordable care models, community outreach, and the broader public health argument for dental care integration. Show you understand Kornberg's role in the Philadelphia oral health ecosystem.
Describe a time you had to adapt to working with a team member whose style was very different from your own. What did you do?
Clinical team dynamics are central to dental practice. Show emotional intelligence, adaptability, and professional conflict resolution.
A patient asks you to do a cheaper procedure that you believe is clinically inferior to the recommended treatment. What do you do?
Informed consent, patient autonomy, clinical obligation to recommend best-evidence treatment, documentation, and respect for patient financial constraints. There is no single right answer — show balanced clinical and ethical reasoning.
What do you see yourself doing professionally fifteen years from now, and how does Kornberg's training lead you there?
Show career intentionality. Connect the clinical volume and diversity of Kornberg's patient population to the skills you want to develop. Be honest about whether you want community, private, or academic practice.
A Philadelphia oral-health report shows North Philadelphia neighborhoods with markedly higher rates of untreated decay and tooth loss than the city average. As a Kornberg student, how do you interpret this and what role does the school play?
Read the disparity through access, poverty, insurance, and historical disinvestment, and connect it to Kornberg's safety-net clinic role and student workforce. Turn the statistic into a case for the school's mission, not a recitation.
Your simulated patient is overwhelmed and tearful after learning they need extensive work they cannot easily afford, and says they regret coming in. How do you respond in the moment?
Slow down, acknowledge the emotion, reassure them that coming in was the right step, surface sliding-scale and phased-care options, and make one achievable plan today. Emotional attunement before logistics.
Kornberg's enormous clinical volume means you will see conditions at advanced stages. How does high-volume, high-acuity training shape the diagnostic and clinical-judgement skills you develop?
Pattern recognition, efficient triage, comfort with complex presentations, and time management under real constraints. Show you understand the developmental value of volume, beyond 'lots of patients'.
You realize a patient assigned to you has been waiting months for care while a less-urgent case was prioritized because it was simpler to complete for a requirement. How do you respond?
Clinical urgency must drive scheduling, not requirement-chasing. Raise it constructively with faculty, advocate for the waiting patient, and reflect on the tension between training requirements and patient need.
Describe a time you built rapport quickly with someone from a very different background to your own. What did you do?
Kornberg's diverse North Philadelphia patient base demands fast, genuine rapport. Show curiosity, respect, and specific behaviors — not generic claims about being a 'people person'.
How to Prepare
- Research Kornberg's community health mission and North Philadelphia patient population specifically; interviewers distinguish candidates who understand this from those who see Kornberg as simply a large school with high acceptance statistics.
- Know Philadelphia's oral health statistics — decay rates, dental access disparities, and community health clinic landscape.
- Practice explaining the oral-systemic link with clinical examples from dental shadowing.
- Prepare genuine answers about how Kornberg's clinical volume will develop specific skills you want — do not just say "lots of patients".
- Prepare ADA ethics scenarios; these are standard at Kornberg.
- Be ready to articulate how high-volume, high-acuity training develops specific diagnostic and clinical-judgement skills, going beyond simply citing the large patient numbers.
- Prepare a concrete example of building rapport quickly with someone from a very different background, since Kornberg's diverse patient base makes this a daily clinical skill.
Common Pitfalls
- Treating Kornberg as a safety school — interviewers are experienced at detecting applicants who are not genuinely interested in the community health mission.
- Failing to connect to Philadelphia or urban community dental care; the school's identity is inseparable from its North Philadelphia location.
- Generic clinical answers that show minimal shadowing depth.
- Inadequate preparation for ADA ethics questions.
- Responding to an overwhelmed, distressed patient by jumping to logistics and payment options before acknowledging their emotion — attunement comes first in a safety-net setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & official admissions information
We cross-check every interview guide against the school's own admissions guidance and the UK regulators.
- Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (DMD) — official admissions page — Programme overview, entry requirements, interview format and timeline straight from the school.
- ADEA AADSAS - dental school application service — The centralised primary application portal for US dental schools, run by ADEA. Coursework, experiences, personal statement, transcript verification and rolling submission.
- ADA - American Dental Association — Administers the DAT and provides authoritative guidance on becoming a dentist, the dental-education pathway and the profession in the US.
- CODA - Commission on Dental Accreditation — The accrediting body for US dental-education programmes - confirm any school you apply to holds CODA-accredited status.
- ADEA - American Dental Education Association — Peak body for US dental education. Official guide to dental schools, admissions-requirement data, and pre-dental resources.
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