UTHSC College of Dentistry (DDS) Dentistry InterviewFormat, Questions & Prep Tips

Tennessee has significant dental access problems, especially in rural areas. How does training at the state's only public dental school fit your career plans?

What they are listening for:

• Tennessee rural dental deserts
• public dental school mission to serve the state
• your specific intent to practice in Tennessee communities

Memphis has high rates of dental disease and a large population without dental insurance. What role do you see yourself playing after graduation in addressing oral health access in Tennessee?

Community health centers, public health dentistry, NHSC loan repayment programs, rural practice incentives — show awareness of structural solutions.

You are treating a child patient and notice signs of what may be dental neglect. The parent insists the child's teeth are fine and resists further discussion. What do you do?

What they are listening for:

• ADA ethics on patient welfare especially for minors
• mandatory reporting considerations
• child welfare system
• communication with parents and supervising faculty

A patient from a low-income background is anxious about dental bills and avoids answering questions about pain because they fear what treatment might cost. How do you handle this appointment?

What they are listening for:

• Financial counseling
• sliding-scale dental care resources
• addressing cost anxiety directly and without judgment
• patient dignity in the encounter

What specifically draws you to UTHSC rather than other dental schools you could have applied to?

School-specific knowledge:

• Memphis clinical volume
• Tennessee public mission
• specific faculty research or programs

Interviewers are assessing whether you know the school.

What do you know about oral health disparities in Tennessee, and what are the biggest barriers to dental access in the state?

Tennessee oral health data: rural dental deserts, Medicaid dental coverage gaps, Tennessee's oral health rankings, geographic maldistribution of dentists.

Describe a time you had to remain calm and focused in a high-pressure or emotionally difficult situation. What does this tell you about your fit for clinical dentistry?

What they are listening for:

• Clinical composure
• managing anxious patients
• remaining patient-centered under time and institutional pressure

A patient asks you to perform a procedure you are not yet confident performing unsupervised. How do you respond?

What they are listening for:

• Clinical competence standards
• student scope of practice
• honest communication with patient and supervising faculty
• patient safety

UTHSC is the only public dental school in Tennessee. What does that mean for how you would approach your training and your obligations after graduation?

What they are listening for:

• Public dental school as public good
• training investment by Tennessee taxpayers
• graduate obligation to serve the state
• rural workforce commitment

Manual dexterity is critical in dentistry. What evidence can you offer that you have developed and refined this skill?

What they are listening for:

• Shadowing
• dental assisting
• any craft
• art
• music
• laboratory work
• sculpture — real evidence with specifics

Role-play: a Memphis patient on a tight budget is in your chair, clearly in pain, but keeps deflecting your questions because he is afraid of what treatment will cost. Show me how you would handle the opening of this appointment.

Address cost anxiety directly and without judgement, prioritize relieving pain, explain options transparently, and connect to sliding-scale or community resources. The interviewer wants to see you build trust before pushing a plan.

You read that Tennessee ranks poorly on adult oral health. What questions would you ask about how that ranking was constructed before drawing conclusions about where dentists are most needed?

What they are listening for:

• Which measures (edentulism, untreated decay, visits)
• urban-versus-rural breakdown
• data age
• self-report versus clinical exam

Then connect to maldistribution — a statewide average can hide acute rural deserts. Show data literacy.

Memphis offers very high clinical volume and case diversity. How do you learn best in a busy, hands-on environment, and how do you make sure quality does not slip when you are moving quickly?

What they are listening for:

• Deliberate practice
• self-checks
• asking for feedback
• patient-safety habits under time pressure

Tie it to UTHSC's high-volume Memphis clinical training context.

A supervising faculty member signs off on your work quickly and moves on, but you are not confident a restoration you placed is adequate. The patient is about to leave. What do you do?

What they are listening for:

• Patient welfare over convenience or hierarchy; raise the concern
• ask for a re-check
• document

Frame it as a safety issue, not a challenge to authority. ADA ethics on competence.

How would you explain the link between a patient's uncontrolled diabetes and their worsening gum disease, to someone who has never connected the two?

What they are listening for:

• Plain-language two-way relationship between diabetes and periodontitis
• motivational framing
• a practical next step (coordinate with their physician)

Demonstrate clear, non-technical oral-systemic education.