What are some of the positives and negatives of studying dentistry?

This is a good opportunity to draw directly on what you’ve observed during work experience, showing genuine insight rather than a textbook answer. Dentistry is a genuinely rewarding career — helping patients out of pain, and helping them feel more confident in their smile — but it also comes with real challenges. Interviewers want to see that you’ve thought seriously about both sides, not just the appealing parts.

Positives of a career in dentistry

• Helping patients regain not just their oral health, but also their confidence — and recognising the wider ripple effect this can have on the people around them, such as family or friends.
• Educating patients about their oral health, knowledge which often gets passed on within families, meaning the impact of helping just one patient can extend far beyond that single appointment.
• The unique, ongoing relationship dentists build with patients over time — being able to oversee treatment from start to finish and be part of that journey with them.

Challenges of the profession

• The physical demands of the job — many dentists report issues such as back pain from the nature of the work.
• Not every patient will be happy with the outcome of treatment, even when it’s been carried out correctly.
• Many patients carry genuine anxiety or fear around dental visits, sometimes described as “hating the dentist” — this can make certain appointments more emotionally demanding.
• Managing workload and the pressures that come with a demanding clinical schedule.

It’s worth reframing these downsides as challenges rather than simple negatives — this shows the interviewer you see them as things to be managed and worked through, not reasons for doubt.

Backing this up with real experience

Wherever possible, support both your positives and your challenges with something you actually observed on placement — for example, a specific patient interaction that showed the reward of the job, or a moment where you saw a dentist managing a particularly anxious patient or a demanding day.

Showing you can handle the challenges

Rather than ending on the downsides, it’s important to explain how you would manage them — for instance, through extracurricular activities, having a support network of friends or family, or drawing on strategies you’ve already used to manage stress or difficult situations in the past. Where possible, link this to a real example from your own life, showing that your resilience isn’t just theoretical.

Suggested structure for this question

• Describe what you find rewarding about dentistry, supporting this with a specific observation from your work experience.
• Describe a genuine challenge of the profession, again backed up with something you witnessed first-hand.
• Explain how you would personally manage these challenges, referencing strategies like support networks or extracurricular outlets.
• Draw a comparison to a past experience where you successfully managed a difficult situation, showing this isn’t just a hypothetical plan.
• Conclude on a balanced but ultimately positive note, making clear that while you’re fully aware of the challenges, you remain genuinely dedicated to pursuing dentistry regardless.