Demographic Profile and Future Expectations of Students Enrolled in a Turkish Private Dental School

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to obtain information about the social and demographic proile of students enrolled in the irst private Turkish dental school, to gather information regarding the reasons for their preferences, and to obtain data about their career expectations. Questionnaires were distributed to 278 students; 229 returned the survey for an overall response rate of 82 percent. Of the respondents, 145 (65.5 percent) were females and seventy-ive (34.5 percent) were males; they had an average age of 21.62±1.58. First degree relative (mother, father, sibling) had the greatest inluence on the students in choosing dentistry as a career. Fathers and mothers had similar impact on the students' choice of dental profession (45.9 percent and 46.6 percent, respectively). Humanistic feelings, desire to serve others, and reasonable working hours were the predominant reasons that motivated females to become a dentist (p<0.05). Also, academic interest and interest in a medical ield were signiicantly inluencing factors for female students (p<0.05 and p=0.001, respectively). One-hundred and ninety-seven students (86 percent) expressed a goal of specializing in a speciic branch of dentistry; orthodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery were the top-ranked specialties. Although only 41 percent of the students were of Istanbul origin, 82.5 percent reported that they wish to practice in Istanbul.Dr. Tanalp is Associate Professor,

Nepalese dental hygiene and dental students’ career choice motivation and plans after graduation: a descriptive cross-sectional comparison

“…According to a recent survey by the FDI geographical mal-distribution of dentists is a problem regardless of the economic development of a country and migration to larger cities is an international trend [ 21 ]. A majority of this study’s students preferred to work in urban areas, a finding that aligns with other studies [ 4 , 21 , 31 , 35 , 36 , 49 , 50 ] with only 10 % intending to work in rural areas after graduation. This will not benefit the 80 % of Nepalese people that live in rural areas [ 51 ].…”

“…The results show that a majority of the dentistry students are from families with greater educational achievement, which can be a proxy for social position. As with other studies [ 31 , 32 ] students enrolled in higher education tend to be from families of higher social position, which is evidenced by the fact that a majority of the students (46 %) in this study reported to be a part of the Brahmin, Chhetri or Newar caste. According to Central Bank of Nepal (2013) Newar, Brahmin and Chhetri have the highest monthly earning in Rupees per month compared to other ethnic groups or caste and their level of education is higher [ 33 ].…”

“…In 2008, 60 % of Nepalese registered dentists were female [ 7 , 18 ]. At the time of our survey, 80 % of the enrolled students at this dental college were female, which is consistent with global trends of greater numbers of female students in dentistry training [ 31 , 35 , 37 – 43 ]. The specific characteristics of the dentistry profession (higher degree of flexibility, possible more autonomy compared to dental hygienists and balance between personal and professional life) can be important in selecting a degree [ 42 , 43 ].…”

“…In other international studies, choosing dentistry is often related to the social status and lifestyle of the profession, as much as the desire to serve others and work in health [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 31 , 34 , 35 ]. A recent study of Australian Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) students showed that caring and helping other people was the primary motivation for study selection [ 36 ].…”

Dental Management Survey Brazil (DMS-BR): criação e validação de um instrumento de gestão para odontologia e sua relação com a satisfação profissional

“…Já no presente estudo, as maiores frequências na amostra foram as áreas de Ortodontia, seguido de Implantodontia e Prótese. As especialidades clínicas, em especial Ortodontia e Cirurgia-oral, podem ter maior prestígio na comunidade odontológica devido ao maior retorno financeiro que proporcionam, por isso possuem bastante procura pelos dentistas (Tanalp et al, 2012).…”