Abstract
BackgroundThe present survey explored the current employment profile and future career intentions of Lithuanian general dentists and specialists.MethodsA census sampling method was employed with data collected by means of a structured questionnaire that inquired about demographics, different employment-related aspects (practice type and location, working hours, perceived lack of patients, etc.), and future career intentions (intent to emigrate, to change profession, or the timing of retirement). The final response rate was 67.6% corresponding to 2,008 respondents.ResultsThe majority of all dentists work full or part-time in the private dental sector, more than one third of them owns a private practice or rents a dental chair. A minority of dentists works in the public dental sector. According to the survey, 26.6% of general dentists and 39.2% of dental specialists works overtime (>40 hours per week; P <0.001) and practice in multiple clinics (1.4 ± 0.6 and 2.0 ± 1.2, respectively; P <0.001). One third of general dentists (31.3%) and dental specialists (31.4%) stated to have a low number of patients (P >0.05). The majority (68.9% of general dentists and 65.9% of dental specialists) plans to work after the retirement age (P >0.05). Emigration as an option for their professional career is being considered by 10.8% of general dentists and 8.3% of dental specialists (P >0.05). Working either full or part-time in private practices (OR = 4.3) and younger age (≤35 years; OR = 2.2) are the two strongest predictors for a perceived insufficient number of patients.ConclusionsOne third of dentists in Lithuania work long hours and lack patients. Many dentists practice in multiple locations and plan to retire after the official retirement age. Some dentists and dental specialists plan to emigrate. The perceived shortcomings within the dental care system and workforce planning of dentists need to be addressed.
Highlights
The present survey explored the current employment profile and future career intentions of Lithuanian general dentists and specialists
The analyses showed no significant differences between responders and non-responders regarding the number of different dental specialists
The majority of dentists worked full or part time in private practices and less than 25% of all dentists were employed in public clinics
Summary
The present survey explored the current employment profile and future career intentions of Lithuanian general dentists and specialists. The structure of professional dental care in Lithuania has gone through substantial changes since the country regained independence in 1991 [1]. During this time, dental care gradually and increasingly transitioned from a public and free-of-charge dental care system to a twotier dental care delivery model including both private and public dentistry. Training for dentists and dental specialists is offered at two universities in Lithuania. Dentists apply for their license after the 5-year undergraduate program. After another 3 years of postgraduate studies they can acquire a dental specialist license. While the number of graduates in dentistry has been increasing by approximately one third during the last 3 years, the number of graduated dental specialists remained the same [8]
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