CAAPID Interview and Bench Test: What Schools Ask

CAAPID Interview and Bench Test: What Schools Ask

Advanced standing bench tests are graded like a clinic, not a lab. Pittsburgh checks infection control and whether you are drilling on the correct tooth before its faculty score your preps. And not every program has one: Penn says "There is no bench exam." Of the 6 programs we checked, 3 publish a bench test.

Cavity form is only part of it. The programs that publish their process say they watch protocol, instructions and how you handle the unfamiliar kit they hand you. Three of the six programs publish no bench test, and Columbia and Tufts describe Kira Talent video steps instead, so practicing preps for a school that never asks for them takes weeks you need for its interview. This page compares six programs from their own pages, quotes Pitt's grading criteria, gives a practice protocol, and ends with a constructed interview question set with sample answers.

Every school and ADEA CAAPID page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. Pitt, Penn, Tufts and Columbia list deadlines that have passed this year, so use this page to prepare for the 2027-28 cycle and recheck each program then. Interviews and bench tests come by invitation, so the written application comes first; our CAAPID personal statement guide covers that document.

Bench test and interview by program

Sources, all checked November 7, 2026: Pitt IASP, LSU IEDP FAQ, Marquette, Penn PASS admissions requirements, Columbia advanced standing, Tufts international student admissions.

Our view: prepare by program, not by "the CAAPID interview." If your list is Penn, Columbia and Tufts, put your weeks into spoken and recorded answers. If it includes Pitt, LSU or Marquette, practice the protocol below on equipment you have never used.

The countercase: if you have not practiced restorative work for years, a structured hands-on course helps even for schools without a bench test, because Tufts names "continuing education or bench preparation courses" as evidence of continued skill development. It is not a stated requirement at any of the six programs.

What Pitt's bench test graders look for

Pitt's page gives the most detail of the six. After the interview half of the day, candidates cut:

"Class II Amalgam cavity preparation on the lower bicuspid,"

"Class III composite cavity preparation on one of the maxillary anterior teeth, and"

"PFM crown prep on one of the maxillary 1st molars."

The rules around the preps:

"No impressions or filling is necessary; you will be allotted 2 and half hours to do the preps."

"No personal instruments are allowed to keep the testing standardized and fair."

"You will have a half hour before starting the procedures, for getting familiar with the system, and arrange the instruments. Please be aware that at all times, infection control protocol has to be maintained as if you are treating a patient."

And the grading:

"What will we assess? We will look if you are following all the infection control protocols, if you are drilling on the correct tooth, and if you understood and can follow the instructions."

"Once the preparations are done, a Prosthodontics' faculty and two general dental faculties will score the preps blindly. This will take place within a two week period following the bench test."

Pitt does not have rolling admission: "No, we do not have rolling enrollment. We will fill all of our positions after the interview and bench testing." LSU takes the opposite line on instruments: "Every participant is required to work on the typodont provided for the bench test. Instruments will be provided, but you may bring and use any of your own instruments."

A practice protocol built from those rules

This is our recommendation, built from the Pitt and LSU text above. No program publishes a practice plan.

1. Practice on an unfamiliar typodont. Both Pitt and LSU make you use theirs. Borrow a different brand or model from the one you trained on.
2. Practice without your own instruments. Pitt bans them. Do at least two full runs with a kit someone else set up.
3. Use the half hour. Rehearse a 30-minute setup: adjust the chair and light, lay out instruments, confirm the tooth numbering system on the instruction sheet.
4. Say the tooth out loud before you touch it. Pitt grades "if you are drilling on the correct tooth." Mark the tooth number on your instruction sheet and check it again before each prep.
5. Run infection control as if a patient were in the chair. Gloves, barriers, handpiece handling, sharps. Pitt assesses it "at all times."
6. Time all three preps in 2½ hours. Our arithmetic gives you about 50 minutes per prep with no buffer, so time each prep separately in practice and find out which one runs long for you.
7. Read the instructions twice and follow them literally. Pitt grades whether you "can follow the instructions." If the sheet asks for a specific margin or surface, do exactly that.

CAAPID interview questions for internationally trained dentists

Pitt is the one program here that publishes the questions it wants you to ask yourself after a failed interview:

"Did I fully understand the interviewer?"

"Did I answer the interviewer's questions, or did I just say what I had prepared to say?"

It also explains its writing test: "Because you are foreign trained students, we want to see your writing style, which is an important component for your dental education." Penn says "Successful candidates will demonstrate strong verbal skills during the interview process."

The questions below are our constructed set, not questions any program publishes. Two programs name what they assess: Penn wants "strong verbal skills," and Pitt's faculty interview is meant to "get know you as a person and assess your ability to fit into our school" [sic]. The clinical and why-retrain questions are ours.

Constructed example answers

Constructed examples, written by us, not real applicant answers. Context (invented): Dr. Samir Qureshi practiced general dentistry for six years before applying.

Why retrain? "Because my license stops at the border, and my patients' needs do not change at the border. I have done about [number] root canals, but I have never charted in a US electronic record, worked under CODA standards, or presented a treatment plan to a patient with private insurance. [Program feature] puts me in clinic early, which is where I will learn those systems fastest."

A case that did not go as planned: "I placed a posterior composite and the patient came back in a week with sensitivity. I had skipped a liner because the cavity looked shallow on the radiograph. I replaced the restoration, and since then I check depth clinically, not only on the film. The mistake was mine, and the change is now a habit."

Working with younger classmates: "They will know the US system better than I do, and I will ask them how it works. In return I can help with hand skills on the typodont. In my last clinic the newest associate taught me the scheduling software and I taught her endodontic access. We both got faster."

Why these work: each answers the question asked in the first sentence, names one concrete detail, and ends with what the applicant does differently. None claims a skill the applicant could not demonstrate in clinic.

Cycle dates: what is still open?

The ADEA CAAPID 2026-27 cycle dates:

Liaison adds: "In some instances, the individual program's deadline may differ from the application's cycle dates." Of the six programs above, Pitt, Penn and Tufts closed for 2026-27 in May and June 2026. Marquette's page gives "January 1" with no year and says "The CAAPID application will open for the class beginning in August 2027 on March 6, 2026" (Liaison gives March 5). Tufts lists "Application opens March 1, 2027" for its next cycle. Penn decides on a rolling basis; LSU says letters of acceptance "are generally extended 1-2 months after the interviews."

Questions about the CAAPID interview and bench test

Do all advanced standing dental programs have a bench test?

No. Penn PASS says "There is no bench exam." Columbia and Tufts describe video interviews and mention no bench test. Pitt, LSU and Marquette publish one.

Can I bring my own instruments to the bench test?

At Pitt, no: "No personal instruments are allowed." At LSU, yes: "you may bring and use any of your own instruments." Both require the school's typodont.

How long is the Pitt bench test?

Two and a half hours for three preps, plus a half hour beforehand to get familiar with the system and arrange instruments.

Will a program tell me why I was not accepted?

Pitt says it will not: "do not request reasons and explanations for why you were not interviewed/accepted." If you are reapplying, the CAAPID reapplicant statement guide covers what to change in writing.

Is a bench test preparation course required?

None of the six programs states one as a requirement. Pitt ran its own preparatory course on August 1–2, 2026, and Tufts lists bench preparation courses among ways to show continued skill development.

Get a free review of your personal statement

Get a free Quick Review of your personal statement against GradPilot's CAAPID personal statement rubric. It reads why you want advanced standing, what you personally did in your dental work, what that work taught you, and how you will learn in a new system. That last section is the same readiness question the interview asks.

If your statement leans on clinical cases, the CAAPID clinical experience guide shows how to write them, and the CAAPID personal statement vs supplemental essays page covers school questions. Applicants to four-year DMD programs should read the dental school interview questions and answers instead. More guides are in the medical school essays hub.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, International Advanced Standing Program FAQ (2026-27): interview day, writing test, bench test preps, rules and grading, no rolling enrollment, June 19, 2026 deadline, preparatory course.
• LSU School of Dentistry, IEDP FAQ (no year stated): two half-days, Sim Lab times, typodont and instrument rules, decision timing.
• Marquette University School of Dentistry, Foreign-trained dentists (class beginning August 2027): January 1 deadline, interview and bench test.
• Penn Dental Medicine, PASS admissions requirements (2026-27): June 1, 2026 deadline, interview days, "There is no bench exam," verbal skills.
• Columbia College of Dental Medicine, Advanced Standing Program for Internationally Trained Dentists (no year stated): August 1 deadline, video assessment.
• Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Dental International Student Admissions (2026-27): May 29, 2026 deadline, virtual interviews, bench preparation courses, March 1, 2027 opening.
• ADEA CAAPID, Application Cycle Dates (2026-27): cycle milestones.