It is no lie that becoming a dentist is not easy. Adding to long study course and hours and hours of reading and practicals, the increasing competition in the field of dentistry are some of the important factors one might consider before deciding to pursue dentistry as a career choice.
A study was designed with an aim to evaluate the factors influencing dental students to choose dentistry as career. This study was conducted on 401 dental students from a dental institute. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of 13 reasons that possibly influenced students' decision to study dentistry.
Top reasons for choosing dentistry as a career:
- Help poor people (95.5%)
- To earn prestige and respect (95.0%)
- Self-interest (94.7%)
- Study of human parts especially teeth (92.8%)
- Making money (77.8%)
- Inspiration from other dentists (63.3%)
- Did not get admission to medicine (MBBS) course (52.1%)
- No doctor in family (51.9%)
- Family members in medical/dental profession(36.9%)
Why is it important to know these influencing factors?
- Changes in these factors over time may warrant major changes for policies in dental education.
- It is crucial on the part of advisors and educators to learn about these influencing factors which may assist them in the assessment of dental education plan and developing a better understanding of students' reasons for opting the dental career that may facilitate an effective interaction between students and teacher.
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