University of Newcastle School of Dentistry: Overview

The University of Newcastle School of Dentistry is one of the UK's leading dental schools, with a reputation for excellence in both teaching and research (4th in the UK according to The Complete University Guide 2022).

The University of Newcastle provides an excellent environment for students to develop their knowledge and skills. The Dental School in particular, offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as well as continuing professional development courses for dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists.

Newcastle upon Tyne is a great city to live in as a student. It has excellent nightlife, with plenty of bars and clubs within walking distance of the university, and plenty more to explore further afield. Besides, Newcastle University accommodation is extremely cheap compared to other cities in the UK, making it a popular choice for students who want to save money on accommodation costs.

Selection For Dentistry Interviews at the University of Newcastle:

🔢 Newcastle Dentistry Interview Selection Process (A206).

GCSEs: Not considered in the selection process at all.

A-levels (or equivalent): Academic screening is the first stage of the selection process for dentistry at Newcastle. This means that your predicted grades will be checked against minimum entry requirements. If your grades meet or exceed the entry requirements at Newcastle you’ll pass on to the next stage. This means that a person with 3A* won’t be given priority over a person with A*AA.

Personal Statement: The personal statement is read and assessed when selecting students for dentistry interviews at Newcastle. The admissions team will be particularly looking for evidence of interest and commitment to dentistry, as well as transferable skills. You also have to demonstrate that you’ve undertaken some work experience related to dentistry (which can also include volunteering or part-time jobs in the public sector).

UCAT: The UCAT is an important element in Newcastle’s selection process. Out of the students who have met grade requirements and have a satisfactory personal statement, 300 with the highest UCAT score will be selected for an interview.

If you’d like to get more in-depth information about the selection process at Newcastle you can check Newcastle’s full Admissions Policy.

📊 What is the UCAT cut-off score to get an interview at Newcastle (A206)?

Newcastle aims to interview 300 students with the highest UCAT score (provided they meet entry requirements). For this reason, the Newcastle UCAT cut-off score varies from year to year. However, if you take a look at the data from past years, you’ll see that the cut-off scores average around 2500-2740.

📈 Want to save yourself some time, stress and money preparing for your dentistry interview at Newcastle? Be a top achiever and prepare with Dentfully: UK’s first all-in-one dentistry interview preparation tool!

📤 When does Newcastle start sending interview invitations?

In the past years, Newcastle started sending out interview invitations around December and continued until all interview spots were filled (January/February).

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Newcastle University School of Dentistry: Number of interviews

Over 800 students apply for the BDS Dentistry course at Newcastle each year. Usually, around 300 top candidates are invited to the dental interview. This means that around 38% of those who apply for dentistry at Newcastle will be offered an interview.

💡 How To Prepare for Dentistry Interviews at Newcastle?

Dentistry interviews are a big deal - there is a lot of material to cover, the stakes are high and competition is intense. And it’s likely one of your first interviews in your life! To make the preparation process as simple and efficient as possible, we’ve created Dentfully - a platform where you can learn, gain confidence and practice mocks for your dentistry interviews:

🦷 Newcastle Dentistry Interview Questions:

Motivation for dentistry:

• Has anyone ever tried to dissuade you from applying to dentistry? What did they say and why did you decide to apply anyway?
• Why would you like to study dentistry at Newcastle?
• Why would you make for a good dentist?
• Studying dentistry requires a lot of studying, determination and good stress-management abilities. How will you cope with the stress and workload?

Teamwork:

• Can you tell us about a situation when you had to work in a team?
• Do you work well in a team? What would you like to improve, in terms of your teamwork abilities?
• What makes a good team leader?
• In your personal statement, you wrote that you’ve shadowed various members of the dental team. Who makes up the dental team? How do the responsibilities of each of the team members differ?

Personal qualities:

• What do you consider to be your greatest weakness? What would you like to change about yourself?
• Could you please tell us about a situation when you faced a challenge, but overcame it?
• How can we teach dental students to be more resilient?
• How would your friends describe you?

Communication skills:

• One of your best friends is hosting her 18th birthday party on Friday evening. It's Thursday evening now. As you advise her on the outfit for tomorrow you realise you are responsible for interviewing a professor of cardiovascular surgery for members of your medical school's surgical society on Friday at 6 pm. How would you approach your friend to tell them you can’t attend their birthday party? What challenges do you expect to face in such a situation?
• How would you explain the NHS Band system to a foreigner?

Empathy:

• How does empathy differ from sympathy? Which one is more important in dentistry?
• How can people learn to be more empathetic individuals?

Professionalism:

• How would you check if a patient has the capacity to consent to treatment?
• What’s your understanding of confidentiality? Can you think of any examples of when confidentiality should be breached?
• A young mother comes with their 12-month-old child to your dental practice for a checkup. During the checkup, you discover that the girl’s pulp is severely damaged and infected and recommend root canal treatment. After hearing the name of the procedure the mother nervously takes the child’s hand and says “We don’t want any treatments. Ginny, let’s go home”. Both the mother and the girl are clearly anxious. However, you know that the treatment is necessary. How would you act in such a situation?

🚀 TOP Tip: Having a hard time answering any of the above questions? You’ll find insider tactics to tackle all of the above questions and formulate convincing and structured answers at Dentfully - the best interview preparation resource for aspiring dentists.

Please note that these aren’t questions that have been asked at Newcastle in past years. Publishing such information would be against Newcastle’s policy. The above questions are adjusted for the interview style at Newcastle and are meant to give you a broad sense of the questions you may face.

Newcastle University Dentistry Interviews (2023 entry):

🗓️ Newcastle Dentistry Interview dates (2022):

This year interviews for BDS dentistry at Newcastle will take place between December 2022 and February 2023 (exact dates are subject to change).

💬 Interview format at Newcastle School of Dentistry

For 2022 entry Newcastle conducted standard panel interviews over Zoom. The interviews were held by 2 interviewers, which were usually members of the academic and/or clinical staff at Newcastle’s Dentistry Department. In total, the interview lasted only about 20 minutes.

The University of Newcastle hasn’t yet published what the interview format will be for the 2023 entry. Follow this website for the latest updates.

🏆 Newcastle Dental Interviews: How many offers?

After interviewing approximately 300 students, Newcastle gives out around 100 offers (approx. 33%), which will then fill the 70 places that Newcastle has on the BDS dentistry course.

👀 What will the interviewers look for?

During your Newcastle dentistry interview, you’ll be assessed on a number of traits and soft skills, including:

• Your motivation for dental school
• An ability to learn efficiently
• Teamworking skills
• Resilience
• Communication skills (including non-verbal communication)
• Empathy
• Integrity and professionalism

⏳ How long does it take to hear back from Newcastle Dentistry Interview?

If you’ve had the chance to go through a dentistry interview at Newcastle, you’ll most likely hear back once all interviews have been completed and no later than by the end of March.

✅ Newcastle Dental School Interviews: 4 Tips

🔓 Open up!

In your interview, you should be your genuine self to let the interviewers get to know you a little better. That’s the main purpose of the interview anyway - to see what kind of a person you really are and if you have the predispositions (qualities, skills) to become a great dentist.

Don’t feel like you need to use very formal, academic language in your interview. Don’t try to boast about your achievements or impress the interviewers. Don’t throw names of fancy dental tech or procedures to show off your knowledge. Treat the interview as a casual conversation about dentistry and you’ll do alright!

🧠 Prepare, but don’t memorise:

There are a number of questions that are almost guaranteed to come up in your dental interview. The most common include “Why dentistry?,” “Why Newcastle” or “Why should we choose you”. These questions may seem simple at a glance, but coming up with a thoughtful, original and structured answer can be tough.

That’s why you should prepare answers for such questions. However, don’t be tempted to memorise entire paragraphs, as you’ll come across as robotic and inauthentic. Instead, try listing your main arguments in bullet points. If you are unsure how to answer such questions register for a free account at dentfully.co.uk and check our comprehensive dental interview guide with top tips, common mistakes, example answers and much more!

🔤  Learn about Dental Ethics

In your Newcastle dentistry interview, you may be tested on your ability to analyse clinical scenarios where ethics are involved. For that reason you should know the basics of dental ethics and how to use those terms to dissect ethical scenarios. In our 40,000+ word dental interview guide, you can find everything about dental ethics that you need for your dentistry interview. We break down the 4 pillars of dental ethics, the 9 GDC Standards and demonstrate how to approach a few common ethical scenarios.

You can also have a look at GDC’s 9 Standards for Dental Professionals, which outline how dentists should behave in their work, what values should they follow and the like.

Looking for more interview tips? Check Newcastle’s guide to dentistry interviews. Good luck with your Newcastle Dentistry Interview!