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

Thomas Gerhard Wolf, Ralf Friedrich Wagner, Oliver Zeyer, Duygu Ilhan, Tin Crnić, Ernst-Jürgen Otterbach and Guglielmo Campus
Additional contact information
Thomas Gerhard Wolf: Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
Ralf Friedrich Wagner: Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
Oliver Zeyer: SSO Swiss Dental Association, 3000 Bern, Switzerland
Duygu Ilhan: Private Practice, Valikonağı Street, 34635 Istanbul, Turkey
Tin Crnić: EDSA European Dental Students’ Association, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland
Ernst-Jürgen Otterbach: FVDZ Free Association of German Dentists, 53177 Bonn, Germany
Guglielmo Campus: Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-9

Abstract: Obtaining information on expectations among dental students regarding their career planning was the main purpose of this observational online survey. The questionnaire was designed with 18 items in five different languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Data were collected on nationality, age, sex, country of residence, university attended, semester, expected year of graduation and expectations about future career. More than 3000 participants ( n = 3851, 2863 females 74.34% and 988 males 25.66% with a sex ratio of 0.35) participated in the survey. Almost one-third (31.29%) of the participants plan to start their own practice at least three years after vocational training, a quarter (25.76%) after three, and only 12.59% after one year. A positive influence of the family in the decision to start a practice was observed in 50.07% of the sample with a statistically significant difference regarding sex ( p < 0.01). Almost one-third of the participants did not wish to work in an institution run by private equity or insurance companies, while 21.79% would work in that environment ( p < 0.01). European dental students desire mainly to become self-employed and start their own practice. New professional practices also offer them options for their future career that they have not yet decided on or thought about.

Keywords: future career; expectations; liberal dental practice; Europe; dental students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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