Dental School Interview Thank You Email (Samples)

Dental School Interview Thank You Email (Samples)

Send a short thank-you email to each dental school interviewer within two days, student interviewers included, and keep it under 120 words. It is courtesy, not a vote: none of the 11 US dental school interview pages we checked on November 7, 2026 mentions thank-you notes, and UCSF says its interviews "are evaluated by members of the Admissions Committee."

That changes what goes in the note. A thank-you that tries to add new achievements or argue your case is an update letter in the wrong envelope. Save substance for an update letter or letter of intent the school says it reads. This page covers who to send it to, three constructed samples, the special rule for dental residency interviews, and what to do in the weeks of silence before Tuesday, December 15, 2026. The general version for MD and DO applicants is the medical school interview thank-you email guide; this page covers what is different in dental.

Does a thank-you change anything?

The published facts:

• UCSF's interviewers each assess "four key competencies" during the interview, and "interviewers do not have access to your written application."
• UIC says it is "unable to accept transcripts, additional letters of recommendation, resume's and other documents once the AADSAS application is submitted, unless requested by the Admissions staff."
• Kentucky says "In the waiting period between the interview and the tell date, candidates may send in updates, letters of intent, etc."
• No school page we checked says a thank-you note is read, filed or counted.

Our view: send one anyway, because it costs nothing and an interviewer who later sits on a committee may remember a specific, gracious note. Do not expect it to move a decision. The basis is that the competencies are assessed in the interview itself, and no school publishes a role for the note. The countercase: at a school that explicitly accepts updates, like Kentucky, the substantive news belongs in a separate update, not folded into the thank-you.

Unknown: whether any dental school forwards thank-you emails to the file. No school we checked says.

Who to send it to

1. Each faculty interviewer, if you have an email address from the invitation or the day.
2. Each student interviewer. UCSF pairs a faculty interview with "one with a current student"; UT Health San Antonio uses "A faculty member and a third-or fourth-year student"; Kentucky's panels include "students." UCSF evaluates the student interview the same way as the faculty one, so thank the student the same way.
3. The admissions office, as one email naming the interviewers, if you do not have individual addresses or your interview was a panel.

At a school like UIC that cannot accept documents after submission, a short courtesy email is still fine. Do not attach anything, and do not use it to send what the school said it will not accept.

Three constructed samples

Each sample below is a constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant email. Names and details are invented.

Constructed sample 1: faculty interviewer

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement.

Subject: Thank you for today's interview

Dear Dr. Quaye,

Thank you for interviewing me this morning. I enjoyed our conversation about the school's community clinic rotation, especially your point that students learn to explain a treatment plan before they learn to deliver it. That matched what I saw assisting at a health center this year.

Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely, Ines Kowalczyk

52 words in the body. One specific detail from the conversation, one link to the applicant, no new claims, no promise.

Constructed sample 2: student interviewer

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement.

Subject: Thank you for the student interview

Hi Tamsin,

Thank you for talking with me today. Your description of how second-years study for the sim lab practical in pairs was the most useful thing I heard all day, and it made the program feel like a place I could work in.

Best of luck with your clinic year, Ines Kowalczyk

42 words in the body. Slightly less formal, still specific, and it thanks the student for something only a student could tell you.

Constructed sample 3: panel interview, to the admissions office

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement.

Subject: Thank you, panel interview on October 9

Dear Admissions Committee,

Thank you for my panel interview on October 9. Please pass my thanks to Dr. Brenner, Mr. Abernathy and the two students on the panel. The question about how I would handle a frightened child patient has stayed with me, and I appreciated the time each of you gave to the conversation.

Sincerely, Ines Kowalczyk, AADSAS ID 00000000

52 words in the body. A panel note goes to the office when you do not have each panelist's address, names everyone you can, and includes your ID so it reaches the right file.

What all three leave out: "first choice", "I will attend", a list of achievements, and any question about your status. Those belong in a dental school letter of intent or an update letter, sent once and on purpose.

Advanced standing and residency interviews

Internationally trained dentists (CAAPID programs). The same rule applies: a short, specific note to each interviewer, no attachments. The interview and bench test are covered on the CAAPID interview and bench test page.

GPR, AEGD and other dental residencies in the National Matching Services Match. Here the rule is stricter. NMS's interview guidance lets you express "a high level of interest" and say you intend to rank a program, but bars any statement about rank position. So a residency thank-you can say you are very interested, and can say you intend to rank the program, but never where. The dental residency letter of intent and NMS rules page quotes the rule in full and has a constructed residency thank-you.

Weeks of silence after the interview

ADEA's 2026-27 important dates make Tuesday, December 15, 2026 the dental school acceptance notification date, and ADEA's guidelines for dental schools tell schools not to notify anyone earlier; the December 15 ADEA rules page quotes both. Kentucky describes the day: "Candidates will receive an email at midnight and a phone call during the day regarding the admission's decision."

So before December 15, expect silence, and do not send a status email.

Our recommendation: if you interviewed in the fall and have heard nothing by mid-January 2027, send one short status email. If you have a real update, send that instead; it does more.

Constructed example: status check after December 15

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement.

Subject: Application status, Ines Kowalczyk, AADSAS ID 00000000

Dear Admissions Office,

I interviewed on October 9 and remain very interested in your program. Could you tell me whether my application is still under review, and whether there is anything further you need from me?

Thank you, Ines Kowalczyk

33 words in the body. One question, no pressure, no "first choice."

Thank-you email checklist

1. Sent within two days of the interview.
2. One email per interviewer, or one to the office naming everyone.
3. One specific detail from the conversation.
4. Under 120 words, no attachments.
5. No new achievements, no "first choice", no status question.
6. For a dental residency: no statement about rank position.

Questions about dental interview thank-you emails

Should I send a thank-you note after a dental school interview?

Yes, a short one. No school we checked counts it, but it costs nothing and closes the interview politely.

Should I thank the student interviewer?

Yes. At UCSF the student interview is evaluated by the Admissions Committee, the same as the faculty one.

Can I email admissions if I have heard nothing?

Not before December 15, 2026. After mid-January, one short status email is reasonable.

Can I tell a residency program it is my first choice?

No. NMS prohibits statements like "I will rank you first". You may say you intend to rank the program.

Review the writing you send next

After the thank-you, the writing Kentucky says candidates may send is "updates, letters of intent, etc." Get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent against GradPilot's letter of intent and interest rubric, written for MD and DO letters and the nearest fit for a dental one: it reads whether the letter joins a feature of the school to your own reason for going there. New grades or experience go through the update letter rubric instead.

More dental guides:

• Dental school interview formats by school: who interviews you, and whether they read your file.
• Dental school waitlist letter of continued interest: what to send if you are waitlisted.
• More guides are in the medical school essays hub. If you no longer need an interview, cancel a dental school interview the day you commit.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• UCSF School of Dentistry, DDS Interview Candidates (no year stated): competencies, closed file, faculty and student interviews.
• UIC College of Dentistry, How to Apply to the DMD Program (2026-2027 cycle): no documents after submission unless requested.
• University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, DMD Admissions (no year stated): panel with students; updates and letters of intent after the interview; decision-day contact.
• UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, DDS Admissions (no year stated): faculty and student interviewers.
• National Matching Services, Dental residency interviews: communication and rank-position rules.
• ADEA, Guidelines for Dental Schools When Extending Offers of Admission (revised January 2022) and 2026-27 important dates: December 15 notification date.
• Thank-you mentions: none on the 11 school interview pages (UCSF, UIC, Iowa, Kentucky, Columbia, Penn, Pitt, Utah, UT Health San Antonio, Hunt SDM, UCLA), checked November 7, 2026.