Career Prospects of Young Dentists in Switzerland

Abstract

The observational cross-sectional study was aimed to obtain information on the promotion and development of young professionals in Switzerland. An online survey with 20 questions was sent out. Data was collected on participants’ demographic data, including age, gender, level of qualification, place of work, information on employment, future perspectives, and career prospects. The survey was sent out to 1920 practitioners, of which 440 (22.9%) responded (37.1% males and 62.9% females). Of them, 76.6% were members of the Swiss Dental Association (SSO) 15.9% students, and 7.5% non-SSO members. Most participants had parents with a dental education (80.9%), and 19.8% did not. Young dentists in Switzerland most often saw their career prospects as neutral (39.8%) or rather positive (39.3%). Whereas significantly fewer dentists had a negative view of their professional future (16.8%), including more women than men, the fewest dentists of both sexes (4.1%) saw their career prospects as positive by far. The majority of young dentists were satisfied with their career prospects. Within the limitations of the current study, the reasons for this need further investigation. Despite good career prospects, there is a desire among young colleagues for cantonal practice assistance and mentoring programs, as well as support in finding a job and in taking the plunge into self-employment.

Expectations Regarding Dental Practice: A Cross-Sectional Survey of European Dental Students

“…The transformation of the oral health sector is currently facing multiple challenges across Europe [ 23 ], and the adaptation of the dental profession to current trends must be followed in order to obtain information for designing and guiding oral health care [ 7 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. In line with this need, an online survey was designed and carried out to obtain information about the wishes and expectations of dental students in Europe regarding their dental careers.…”

“…This is also in line with the findings of the present study, that the main reasons for having one’s own practice are financial freedom and more flexibility in planning for a family. The fact that young dentists prefer private practice has been described [ 7 , 28 ], whereas the National Health Service in the UK also offers advantages for young colleagues such as a working environment with access to specialist training and, above all, clinical experience [ 27 ]. However, when considering employment and self-employment in one’s own/private practice, a distinction must be made depending on the country in which one lives.…”

“…Informed consent was obtained from all study participants by accessing the online survey. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of similar questionnaires from the literature [ 7 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Information was requested about nationality, age, sex, country of residence, university, semester, expected year of graduation, mandatory postgraduate (vocational) training after graduation, initial career plans after vocational training, the ideal practice type and reasons therefore, the intended time to work as self-employed, family-life influence on the career, reasons for working as an employed dentist and settings of an employed dentist, type of practice and sex ratio at the university (semester/year).…”

“…New generations of dentists will face very different times and different problems but also new opportunities. Non-operative treatment rather than operative treatment [ 1 ], antimicrobial resistance [ 2 ], the management of sugar [ 3 ] and the impact of tobacco consumption on oral health [ 4 ] will be more and more relevant in the future, not to mention the fact that the current COVID-19 pandemic [ 5 , 6 , 7 ] will also have a significant impact on the future of the dentistry profession. Moreover, topics such as green dentistry, sustainability and recycling management to mitigate climate change, artificial intelligence and big data (e-health), and tele-dentistry [ 8 ] are changing dentistry worldwide.…”

“…It is imperative to gain reliable information in order to create the framework conditions for optimal patient care, both in rural and urban areas [ 13 , 14 ]. However, little information is available on current students’ choice of occupation or their desire to pursue a profession later [ 7 , 12 ]. Therefore, the University of [name anonymized], in cooperation with the [name anonymized], has set itself the goal of conducting a survey among dental students in geographical Europe (WHO Region Europe).…”