Career perspective among dental professionals in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Introduction: The choice of career is one of the most important decisions in one's life. However, the choice of dentistry becomes forceful at times by peer pressure, cultural thrust or inability to procure medicine. The dental students may be discontented with the profession or income in the present scenario due to the growing competition. The aim of the present survey is to assess the various careers perspectives opted by Indian dentists post under-graduation. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. A customized questionnaire was administered to the study group of 500 dentists regarding the reasons for choice of dental course, career options, obstacles faced post-completion of under-graduation, satisfaction with current profession, income and clinical practice. Results: Data were analyzed using counts and percentages. The study constituted of 49% male and 51% female participants. The most popular reasons for choosing dentistry were inability to get medical seat as well as out of own interest and family pressure. The participants planned to do post-graduation (41%) or work at private clinic (22%) after graduation. Most of the dentists 430 (90%) reported being satisfied with their profession while only 136 (28%) were satisfied with their income. 26% of the participants wanted to quit dentistry. Conclusions: The need for the hour is to uplift the quality of dental profession in India by increasing the number of post graduate seats in proportion to the undergraduate seats, to increase the income, job opportunities and status of the dental professionals in par with medical professionals.