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Dentist interview questions, and how to answer them

A dentist interview is really two interviews stacked together. One checks whether your hands and judgment are safe with the owner's patients, and the other checks whether you'll fit a schedule, a team and a pay model without burning out in a year. Expect clinical case talk, a close look at your speed, and at least one question about money.

12 questions7 minute read

Part 1

1.Walk me through the procedures you're comfortable doing on your own and the ones you refer out.

Why they ask

The owner is working out which cases they can hand you on day one and which will leave the building. Referrals cost the practice revenue, but a botched case costs far more.

How to answer

  • Name what you do confidently: composites, crown and bridge, anterior and premolar endo, simple extractions
  • Name the grey zone honestly, such as molar endo or surgical extractions, and how many you've done under supervision
  • Say what you always refer, like impacted third molars or complex perio surgery
  • Say how you'd like to grow the grey zone with mentorship in this office

2.How long does a single-unit crown prep and impression take you, start to finish?

Why they ask

Schedules are built in time blocks. If you need double what the hygiene and assistant team expect, the whole day slides and patients wait.

How to answer

  • Give an honest time range for prep, retraction and a digital scan or traditional impression
  • Mention what slows you down, such as subgingival margins or a gaggy patient
  • Say how you've been getting faster, for example scanning instead of trays
  • Show you'd rather ask for a longer block early than rush the margin

3.A patient comes in with a cracked tooth and asks why you want a crown when the last dentist said a filling was fine. What do you do?

Why they ask

They're testing case presentation and ethics together. Contradicting another dentist badly makes patients distrust everyone.

How to answer

  • Show the patient the intraoral photo or the crack line under magnification
  • Explain the risk of the crack spreading in plain words, without trashing the previous dentist
  • Give the options, including watching it, with the trade-offs of each
  • Document the conversation and the patient's choice in the chart
4.Tell me about a time a procedure didn't go to plan.

Why they ask

Every dentist perforates, separates a file or breaks a root tip eventually. They want to know you stay calm, tell the patient and fix it or refer it properly.

How to answer

  • Pick a real complication, such as a separated file or a fractured root tip
  • Say what you did in the moment and when you stopped
  • Explain how you told the patient and what went in the notes
  • Name the habit you changed afterwards
5.How do you handle a medically complex patient, say someone on anticoagulants who needs an extraction?

Why they ask

Older patients arrive with long medication lists. Owners need to know you'll read the medical history and involve the physician when needed.

How to answer

  • Review the med list and ask about recent lab values where relevant
  • Mention local hemostatic measures like sutures and hemostatic agents
  • Say when you'd consult the patient's physician rather than stop a medication yourself
  • Mention blood pressure checks and when you'd reschedule

Part 2

6.Which practice management software have you used, and how do you chart?

Why they ask

Charting is both a legal record and how the office bills. Slow or sloppy notes create insurance denials and risk.

How to answer

  • Name the systems you've used, such as Dentrix, Eaglesoft or Open Dental
  • Say how you write notes: during the visit, templates you adapt, what you always include
  • Mention attaching X-rays and photos to support claims
  • Show you finish notes the same day
7.How would you handle a patient who's terrified and nearly walks out before an extraction?

Why they ask

Anxious patients are a big share of the day. How you handle them decides whether they come back.

How to answer

  • Slow down, sit at eye level and explain each step before you do it
  • Agree on a stop signal like a raised hand
  • Use topical anesthetic and a slow injection technique
  • Mention nitrous oxide or rescheduling with a sedation plan if your permits allow
8.What's your approach to treatment planning for a patient with a lot of needed work and limited insurance?

Why they ask

This shows whether you'll phase care sensibly and present it in a way patients accept, without overtreating.

How to answer

  • Stabilize first: pain, infection, active decay
  • Phase the rest across insurance periods where it's clinically safe
  • Give good, better and simpler options with honest prognoses
  • Work with the treatment coordinator on financing
9.How do you work with hygienists and assistants?

Why they ask

You'll run between hygiene checks and your own chair all day. A dentist who ignores or snaps at staff drives turnover.

How to answer

  • Describe how you do hygiene exams quickly and respectfully
  • Say you trust the hygienist's findings and ask what they saw
  • Mention the morning huddle and flagging schedule problems early
  • Give an example of backing up an assistant in front of a patient
10.What do you know about how associates are paid here, and how do you feel about it?

Why they ask

Misunderstanding the pay model is the most common reason associates leave in the first year.

How to answer

  • Show you understand production versus collections and how lab fees are handled
  • Ask about the daily guarantee and how long it lasts
  • Say what you need to feel safe early, such as mentorship or a ramp-up
  • Stay calm and factual, not shy about it

Part 3

11.Where do you want to be clinically in a few years?

Why they ask

Owners want to know if you'll stay, if you're eyeing a specialty, or if you might open a competing office nearby.

How to answer

  • Name the skills you want to add, like implants, clear aligners or molar endo
  • Say what continuing education you're planning
  • Be honest if you're interested in ownership someday
  • Connect it to what this practice could offer you
12.What infection control habits do you never skip?

Why they ask

A single breach can shut down an office and hurt patients. They want habits, not textbook recitation.

How to answer

  • Mention handpiece sterilization and checking the spore test log
  • Talk about barrier changes and surface disinfection between patients
  • Mention waterline treatment and testing
  • Say you'd speak up if you saw a lapse, even from the owner

Questions to ask them

Ask at least two. It shows you're picking them too.

  • Who do I call if I'm stuck mid-procedure, and will someone be in the building on my days?
  • How is lab work chosen and paid for, and who decides which lab we use?
  • What does a typical day on my schedule look like in the first month, and how is it ramped up?
  • Which procedures do you want kept in-house, and which do you usually refer?
  • What does the non-compete cover, and has an associate here ever been held to it?