Diversity Increasing in the Dental Field
The dental profession is undergoing demographic changes, especially changes in gender distribution, according to a study from the Oral Health Workforce Research Center at the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies in New York.
The dental profession is undergoing demographic changes, especially changes in gender distribution, according to a study from the Oral Health Workforce Research Center at the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies in New York. The research, which was conducted in collaboration with the American Dental Association, evaluated differences in dental practice characteristics and service delivery by gender to anticipate changes that might affect the availability of care for underserved populations.
The investigation revealed that besides an increase in the number of female dentists entering the profession, women practitioners were more likely to complete residency training in general dentistry or pediatric dentistry than their male counterparts, and were also more likely to serve younger patients and those covered by public dental insurance. Additional findings demonstrated that higher proportions of female dentists were Hispanic, black/African American or foreign trained, and that, overall, female dentists were younger and shared more diverse backgrounds than their male colleagues.
From Decisions in Dentistry. September 2019;5(8):9.
