This paper aimed at asserting the influence of Rural Internship in the formation of dental students at UFMG (Minas Gerais Federal University). Based on qualitative methodology, data collection used the focus group technique. Sample size was of fifteen students who participated in groups before and after concluding the discipline. Following data analysis, four major themes emerged: expectations regarding Rural Internship; its unfolding process; public health service; and understanding the health and disease process. It was concluded that Rural Internship was seen as a transition between academic and professional lives; that little attention given to social sciences and the public health service in previous undergraduate terms made insertion of students in the health service harder; that population's low living standards and the existence of an organized and efficient health system were greeted with surprise by the students; and that experiences undertaken during internship had waken them to patient attention based on warm welcome and health care.
Rural Internship; Dental Education; Dental students