Oral Surgery Residency Mock Interview

Master 30 Oral Surgery Residency interview questions covering clinical skills, research experience, and program fit.

WRITTEN BY RYAN BRUNNER

QUESTION 3 OF 30

Talk about your overall academic performance through dental school. Where did you excel, and where could you have improved?

Nisha Yadav is a Talent Advisor & People Specialist with a focus on global talent attraction. Her earlier career experience includes HR and recruitment roles where she specialized in contract and permanent IT recruitment opportunities.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

Based on your application materials and the fact that your interviewers are likely familiar with the dental school you attended, they have a pretty good feel for your academic path that led you to consider oral surgery residency training. They want to hear you talk in detail about where you exceeded and where you feel you could have done better.

Nisha Yadav is a Talent Advisor & People Specialist with a focus on global talent attraction. Her earlier career experience includes HR and recruitment roles where she specialized in contract and permanent IT recruitment opportunities.

Example Answer

"The areas where I shined during dental school were the hands-on classes and rotations like restorative dentistry, oral surgery, and emergency care. I was always commended for my detailed fine motor skills in procedures. If I could name one area I could have improved, it would probably have to be the practice management side. As you can see from my application materials, my hard work and dedication over the last four years put me at the top of my class."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

How to Answer

As you answer this question, you want to focus on the fact that most oral surgery residency programs require their residents to be in the top 10% of their class. Make sure to highlight that fact if you were. Then discuss what interested you most and where you had the biggest challenges while training in dental school. You can feel free to outline the areas that challenged you the most as long as you show that you worked to improve and grow there.

Previous Question Next Question

30 Oral Surgery Residency Interview Questions & Answers

Jump to any question in the set.

01 At our institution, we want to match dental school graduates with a true passion for oral surgery. What appeals to you most about a practice as an oral surgeon? DISCOVERY 02 What is your plan if you do not match into our oral surgery residency this season? DISCOVERY 03 Talk about your overall academic performance through dental school. Where did you excel, and where could you have improved? EDUCATION 04 We will be interviewing many top notch candidates for our oral surgery residency. What makes you stand out from other dental school graduates with the same qualifications? DISCOVERY 05 What do you feel is the single most important quality an oral surgeon should possess? DISCOVERY 06 What questions do you have for us about our oral surgery residency program and institution? ASK THE INTERVIEWER 07 What do you know about our institution, and why do you feel this setting would be a great environment for you? COMPATIBILITY 08 Do you have an area of weakness that you would like to improve as you enter oral surgery residency? COMPETENCY 09 Talk about the research experience you gained during dental school. How do you feel that benefitted you? EXPERIENCE 10 Tell us something that we would not know about you from reading your CV. DISCOVERY 11 What achievement are you most proud of so far on your path to graduating from dental school and pursuing oral surgery residency? BEHAVIORAL 12 Have you applied to other oral surgery residency programs? If so, where does our program rank for you? DIRECT 13 Which dentistry-related newspapers, journals, or publications do you read to stay in touch with new dental discoveries and current events? DILIGENCE 14 How does your family feel about you pursuing oral surgery residency training? Do they support your career choice? DISCOVERY 15 How do you typically respond to feedback and criticism on your work? BEHAVIORAL 16 Who in your life mentors or inspires you? DISCOVERY 17 How do setbacks emotionally affect you? BEHAVIORAL 18 Have you ever had significant dental work done? Tell us about your experience as a patient and what made it memorable. EXPERIENCE 19 There is a high suicide rate among dental professionals. How do you feel about this fact, and how do you plan to remain grounded during your career? JOB SATISFACTION 20 Are you aware of cases of medical malpractice in the oral surgery field? How will you cope if you are faced with one of these situations? BEHAVIORAL 21 Do you feel that your manual dexterity skills are suitable for a career as an oral surgeon? COMPETENCY 22 Do you consider yourself technologically advanced and capable of working with new technologies and equipment as an oral surgery resident? DIRECT 23 How would you rate your ability to adapt to changing conditions and environments? ADAPTABILITY 24 What leadership qualities do you possess that will allow you to succeed in our oral surgery residency program? LEADERSHIP 25 How will you handle working under very close supervision as an oral surgery resident with our program? BEHAVIORAL 26 Talk about a time you had to work closely with someone who had a problematic personality. BEHAVIORAL 27 Why do you believe it is important to embrace diversity and inclusion efforts as an oral surgery resident? DIVERSITY 28 As a prospective oral surgery resident, how do you feel about purely elective cosmetic oral surgery? COMPATIBILITY 29 How would you describe the interpersonal and communication skills you would bring to our oral surgery residency program? COMMUNICATION 30 If you were in surgery and call for an instrument that you're told isn't available, and this adds time to the surgery that otherwise would have been much shorter, how would you address the issue? SITUATIONAL

RELATED SETS

Anesthesiology Residency

Behavioral Residency

Dental Residency

Dermatology Residency

Ryan Brunner

Written by Ryan Brunner

30 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS · ORAL SURGERY RESIDENCY