University of Washington School of Dentistry (DDS) Dentistry Interview — Format, Questions & Prep Tips

UW Dental serves the WICHE compact — Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Why does training at the premier dental school for this region appeal to you?

WICHE mission to train dentists for underserved Pacific Northwest and Mountain West communities, specific Pacific Northwest oral health context, regional commitment.

UW Dental is a top-ten research dental school. Do you have research experience? How do you plan to engage with research opportunities during your DDS training?

Any research background, specific UW faculty research interests relevant to you, commitment to evidence-based dentistry, potential dual-degree interest.

Alaska has some of the worst oral health statistics of any US state and among the fewest dentists per capita. UW trains dentists for Alaska through the WICHE compact. Could you see yourself practicing in Alaska after graduation?

Genuine Alaska interest vs. honest acknowledgement of challenges. Alaska dental health: high rates of Early Childhood Caries, Alaska Native oral health disparities, geographic access challenges.

A senior faculty member at UW proposes a research protocol that you believe has a patient safety concern. What do you do?

IRB reporting, whistleblower protections in research, patient welfare primacy, chain of professional concern in an academic environment.

Seattle has a large Southeast Asian immigrant population with significant dental disease and cultural beliefs about teeth and dental care. How do you approach cross-cultural dental education?

Cultural humility, understanding cultural context of oral health beliefs, patient education without coercion, interpreter services, community trust-building.

UW Dental admits a small class. What specific aspects of UW Dental's program, research, or faculty drew you to apply here?

School-specific preparation: UW faculty research in oral microbiology, craniofacial genetics, oral cancer. Showing genuine school-specific knowledge is essential at a competitive school.

What do you know about the oral health crisis facing Alaska Native and First Nations communities, and what role has UW Dental played in addressing it?

Alaska DHAT (Dental Health Aide Therapist) program, Alaska Native oral health disparities, UW's Alaska compact seats, Early Childhood Caries rates in Indigenous communities.

UW Dental is known for producing researchers as well as clinicians. How do you balance research interest with your primary goal of becoming a competent clinical dentist?

Research and clinical practice as complementary, evidence-based dentistry grounded in research literacy, specific ways you plan to contribute to both.

UW Dental has strong specialty programs in periodontics, orthodontics, oral medicine, and oral surgery. Are you interested in specializing, and if so how has your pre-dental experience informed this?

Honest trajectory — general vs. specialty. If specialty: grounded in shadowing or experience. If general: commitment to comprehensive care. UW has strong placement either way.

A patient comes in for a routine check-up and you notice signs that could indicate an early oral cancer lesion. The patient is anxious and wants to downplay it. How do you manage this?

Patient welfare primacy, clear communication of findings without causing unnecessary panic, referral to oral medicine or oral surgery, documentation, ADA ethics on patient information.

Role-play: a routine check-up patient is anxious and tries to wave off a suspicious oral lesion you have noticed, saying 'it's nothing, I don't have time for this'. Show me how you would handle the conversation.

Communicate the finding clearly without inducing panic, explain why prompt evaluation matters, arrange referral to oral medicine or surgery, and respect their anxiety while not letting them dismiss it. The interviewer watches calm, honest risk communication.

Alaska Native communities report some of the highest early-childhood-caries rates in the country, and the Dental Health Aide Therapist model was introduced partly in response. How would you reason about whether the DHAT program is improving outcomes?

Access and treatment-rate changes, caries trends over time, remoteness confounders, and the difficulty of attribution. Note UW's WICHE and Alaska links. Show evidence-minded evaluation rather than assuming the program works.

UW is among the top dental schools for NIH funding. Walk me through a research or scholarly project you have done and how it shaped how you think about evidence.

A real project, your specific role, what you learned about study design and uncertainty, and how it informs evidence-based practice. Genuine research literacy is a differentiator at UW.

How would you explain a recommended treatment to a Southeast Asian immigrant patient whose cultural beliefs about teeth differ from the evidence, without dismissing those beliefs?

Cultural humility, exploring the patient's understanding, finding common ground between their values and clinical recommendations, and interpreter use. Demonstrate respectful, non-coercive cross-cultural education.

While assisting on a study, you notice a participant may not have fully understood the consent form they signed. What do you do?

Informed consent integrity, raising it with the principal investigator and IRB, participant welfare over study convenience, and the difference between research and clinical obligations. ADA and research ethics on autonomy.