American Dental Education Association Survey Research Articles

Dentists of tomorrow 2023: An analysis of the results of the ADEA 2023 survey of U.S. Dental School Seniors.

This study examines the journey of U.S. dental schools' predoctoral senior class of 2023, from the influences on and their motivations to pursue careers in dentistry, the aspects of their dental school experiences, plans upon graduation, and the investment in their careers. This study is an analysis of the results of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) survey of Dental School Seniors, 2023 Graduating Class. Forty-eight percent of senior students from 65 accredited U.S. dental schools in the 2022-2023 academic year responded to the ADEA survey. Whenever feasible, the class of 2023 survey respondents' answers were compared with those of their 2018 counterparts and with the responses of 2023 predoctoral senior students of historically underrepresented race and ethnicity (HURE) groups. The analysis revealed that 47% of the 2023 respondents decided to become a dentist before going to undergraduate college, more than the proportion of their 2018 colleagues (44%). When it comes to preparedness to practice dentistry, the responses indicated a high level of readiness to go into the profession. Ninety percent of respondents agreed and strongly agreed with the preparedness to practice statements indicated in the 2023 ADEA survey. Between 2018 and 2023, the share of survey respondents who planned to join a private practice immediately after graduation increased from 48% to 53%. More than one-third (34%) of the 2023 respondents and 40% of HURE participants who planned to go into private practice immediately upon graduation intended to join a dental service organization (DSO). When accounting for inflation, the average education debt for students graduating with debt who responded to ADEA 2023 survey was 12% lower than what the 2018 respondents reported. This study finds that some preferences changed between the 2018 and 2023 cohorts, the latter being more likely to decide to go to dental school before college and join a DSO private practice upon graduation. Senior students responding to the ADEA 2023 survey stated a high level of preparedness to practice dentistry.

Barriers in Sustainability of Dental Students Choosing Academic Career Path: Comparison between the United States and Japan

The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers experienced by dental students when choosing professional careers. An anonymous online survey with eight questions extracted from the annual American Dental Education Association Survey for U.S. dental school seniors (UDS) and two Japan-specific questions was given to Japanese dental school seniors (JDS) in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The results were compared to UDS data. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Harvard Medical School and included 1053 respondents. The parental education and income levels of JDS were higher than UDS, and educational debt of JDS was lower than UDS. The top reason for choosing dentistry for JDS was influence and expectation from family members, while the top reason for UDS was service to others. Although both groups showed interest in teaching in academia, the majority chose to enter private practice immediately post-graduation, and would consider teaching during their mid or late career. Barriers for dental students staying in academia varied between the two countries. For JDS, the main barrier was an anxiety around stable income. For UDS, it was their educational debt. Dental educators and policymakers need to consider these barriers to improve the sustainability of dental students choosing an academic career path.

Dentists of tomorrow 2022: An analysis of the results of the ADEA 2022 Survey of U.S. Dental School Seniors.

This study examines the journey of US dental schools' predoctoral senior class of 2022, from the influences on and their motivations to pursue careers in dentistry, the aspects of their dental school experiences, plans upon graduation, and the investment in their careers. The study is an analysis of the results of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Survey of Dental School Seniors, 2022 Graduating Class. Each year, ADEA surveys senior predoctoral students from the accredited US dental schools. Whenever feasible, the answers of the survey respondents from the 2022 class were compared with their 2017 counterparts and with the responses of 2022 predoctoral senior students of historically underrepresented race and ethnicity groups. The analysis revealed that 47% of the 2022 respondents decided to become a dentist before going to undergraduate college, more than the proportion of their 2017 colleagues (44%). When it comes to preparedness to practice dentistry, the responses indicated a high level of readiness to go into the profession. Nineteen percent of survey participants reported that the COVID-19 pandemic affected their professional plans immediately after graduation. Between 2017 and 2022, the share of survey respondents who planned to join a private practice immediately after graduation increased from 48% to 53%. Almost a third of the 2022 respondents who planned to go into private practice immediately upon graduation intended to join a dental service organization. When accounting for inflation, the average education debt for students graduating with debt who responded to ADEA 2022 survey was 11% lower from what the 2017 respondents reported. This study finds that some preferences changed from the 2017 cohort to the 2022 cohort toward deciding to go to dental school before college and joining a private practice upon graduation. Senior students responding to the ADEA survey in 2022 stated a high level of preparedness to practice dentistry. US dental schools pursued consistently their mission to educate, train, and graduate oral health professionals fully prepared to go into the profession.

Practice management curricular changes may lead to enhanced preparedness for practice.

The 2018 American Dental Education Association Survey of Dental School Seniors showed that 62.5% of graduates felt prepared in practice administration compared to 49.5% in 2013. The aim of this study was to survey and Internet search U.S. Dental Schools' Practice Management curriculum (PMC) to assess if and what changes, made in the past 5 years, may account for the continued increase in dental graduates' perception of preparedness for practice METHODS: An electronic survey was emailed to 64 dental schools querying factors for changes in PMC, updates in instructors, instructional methods, technology, topics, hours, and content enhancements. In addition, if a dual degree in business administration was developed or planned in the future. Twenty-three schools responded for a 36.0% response rate. All participants (100.0%) indicated PMC changes, 73.9% responded that changes were motivated by student interest, and 60.9% planned future PMC improvements. All respondents (100.0%) updated subject matter and 52.2% had added technology, including Web-based business model and simulation courses. Two schools added dual degree MBA programs in 2017 due to student interest in entrepreneurship and administrative goals. The study showed that upgrades in topics and teaching methods with Web-based technology, dual degrees, and additional focus on PMC hours, sequence, and number of practice administration courses in D1 and D2 years may be contributory factors for the development of enhanced skills and enhanced attitudes of graduates for practice readiness. Future study is needed to assess if these PMC improvements and advanced business courses have been successful in practicing dentists' careers.

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2017 Graduating Class

This report summarizes the key findings of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Survey of Dental School Seniors for the graduating class of 2017. The survey covers a wide range of topics related to dental education, including students’ motivation to pursue dentistry, perceived preparation in different subject areas, debt incurred, and career plans. The response rate for the survey was 77.1% and included responses from students at all 65 U.S. dental schools with graduating classes that year. Some of the key findings include a near equal representation of males and females, but a skewed distribution by gender within race/ethnic groups. In general, minority students had a higher ratio of females, while White students had a higher ratio of males. Average educational debt fell slightly at public schools but rose by $40,000 to $287,405 at private schools. The two most common plans following graduation were to work in the private sector and to continue learning at an advanced dental education program. The majority of students planned at some point in their careers to teach and to work with underserved populations. Comparing the experiences and plans of seniors with different characteristics allows school administrators and policymakers to better understand these future dentists’ motivations and challenges.

An Interactive Online Approach to Teaching Evidence-Based Dentistry with Web 2.0 Technology.

At many dental schools, evidence-based dentistry (EBD) is taught in a traditional lecture format. To avoid the constraints of lectures, in 2012 the EBD unit was redesigned for online delivery at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific with a Web 2.0 tool called Voicethread. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of Voicethread-based online learning on students' perceptions of learning EBD, their participation and engagement, and their acceptance of this new online delivery approach. Students' perceptions were collected from two sources: a self-assessment quiz and a question on their self-reported preparedness in EBD from the 2014 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Survey of Dental School Seniors. The Voicethread analytics tool provided data on students' participation and engagement. Students' responses to the survey questions on the self-assessment quiz provided data on their acceptance of Voicethread-based learning. The average score of the 124 students (91% of total) taking the quiz was 7.3 out of 8. The percentage of students who reported in the 2014 ADEA survey that they were "well prepared" in EBD was 45.2%, compared with the national average of 31.2%. Responses to this question for the Classes of 2013 and 2015, who received instruction in the traditional lecture format, were 35.2% and 34.6%, respectively. With Voicethread, students actively participated and interacted with their peers through questions and answers. They perceived Voicethread to be more effective than other delivery approaches and reported that it made learning more active and engaging. These findings suggest that Voicethread may be an effective tool for students to learn EBD since it adds interactivity to online learning.

Dental Schools Vacant Budgeted Faculty Positions, Academic Year 2014–15

Every year the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) surveys U.S. dental schools on their faculty workforce. The ADEA Survey of Vacant Budgeted Faculty Positions gathers information on vacancies, sources of new hires, and reasons for separations. This report, which highlights trends from the 2014–15 academic year, allows assessment of faculty workforce developments over time and across schools. For this report, 63 out of 65 U.S. dental schools provided data, for a 97% response rate. The results showed that the rise in full‐time vacancies that occurred during the past few years continued as the economy recovered from the recent recession. Given the large number of faculty members who came from private practice (n=483) or left their positions for private practice (n=185), the private sector appeared to continue to be an attractive alternative with which dental schools must compete. Nonetheless, schools were typically able to fill vacant positions within a year. The primary obstacle to filling vacant positions related to the ability of schools to offer sufficient compensation to attract qualified applicants. Schools did not have many lost positions (n=16) relative to new positions to be filled (n=82), suggesting an expansionary trend among dental schools. Overall, there continued to be a need for more faculty members, but that demand was not significantly greater than in prior years.

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2015 Graduating Class

This report summarizes and analyzes the results of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Survey of Dental School Seniors administered to seniors graduating in 2015. Data were collected from 60 of 61 U.S. dental schools with graduating seniors. The response rate was 83% (4,827 respondents). Where appropriate, results from prior years are included in this report to allow for comparisons over time. The survey asked students a range of questions concerning their motivations for attending dental school, experience while in dental school, educational debt incurred before and during dental school, and plans following graduation. The results provide insight into the future dental workforce and how well students perceive that schools are meeting their needs. Over the past 15 years, educational debt has nearly tripled at public schools and more than doubled at private schools. However, 12.4% of 2015 seniors reported graduating with no educational debt, an increase from 10.7% in 2014. Nearly half of the 2015 seniors planned to enter private practice dentistry (49.3%), and 34.3% planned to enter graduate school/residence/internship. Although very few seniors planned to teach immediately, the majority planned to teach later in their careers. Over half of American Indian/Alaska Native seniors planned to locate in rural areas or small towns, while over half of Black/African American seniors planned to work in mid‐sized cities or the urban fringe. A majority (53.7%) responded that they would definitely or probably work with underserved populations at some point after graduation. Together these, as well as other results from the survey, provide a window into the dental school experience as perceived by the graduating class of 2015.

Educational debt and intended employment choice among dental school seniors

The authors examined the association between educational debt and dental school seniors' intended activity after graduation. The authors used multinomial logit regression analysis to estimate the relationship between dental educational debt and intended activity after graduation, controlling for potentially confounding variables. They used data from the 2004 through 2011 ADEA (American Dental Education Association) Survey of Dental School Seniors. Fourth-year dental school students with high levels of educational debt were more likely to express an interest in choosing to go into private practice, although the magnitude of this effect was relatively small. For each $10,000 increase in debt, the likelihood of choosing advanced education relative to private practice was 1.5 percent lower (relative risk ratio [RRR], 0.985 [95 percent confidence interval {CI}, 0.978-0.991]). For the same $10,000 increase in debt, the probability of choosing teaching, research and administration was 3.1 percent lower than that for choosing private practice (RRR, 0.969 [95 percent CI, 0.954-0.986]) and was 8.4 percent lower than that for choosing a government service position (RRR, 0.916 [95 percent CI, 0.908-0.924]). Although educational debt was statistically significant for predicting intended activity after graduation, the magnitude of influence of other variables such as sex, race and whether a parent is a dentist was substantially larger. Practical Implications Concerns regarding rising educational debt and its effect on the dental labor market may be misplaced. The characteristics of the dental school student body may be a more accurate predictor of employment choices that dental school seniors are making than are total educational debt levels.

Altruism in Dental Students

Altruistic dentists play a central role in treating minority populations, the poor, the uninsured, and those living in underserved communities. This study examines factors associated with graduating dental students' altruistic attitudes. We use a nationally representative dataset, the 2007 American Dental Education Association Survey of Dental School Seniors (n=3,841), and a comprehensive framework to investigate individual, school, and community characteristics that may influence altruism. Student characteristics were the most significant predictors: women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and students with low socioeconomic status expressed greater altruism than their counterparts. These results inform dental educators and administrators to expand efforts to recruit underrepresented racial/ethnic and low-income students into dentistry. Additionally, we found that students with altruistic personalities attend schools where the social context is more accepting and respectful of diversity. This suggests that schools can promote altruism in their students by creating a positive culture and environment for diverse populations.

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2009 Graduating Class

The annual survey of dental school seniors conducted by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) collects information on selected characteristics and opinions of graduating seniors from U.S. dental schools. The survey seeks information across a wide range of areas, including the reasons

Who Will Serve? Assessing Recruitment of Underrepresented Minority and Low‐Income Dental Students to Increase Access to Dental Care

This article uses data from the 2007 American Dental Education Association survey of dental school seniors to assess their intentions to serve underserved populations according to the students' underrepresented minority (URM) and income status. Dental school recruitment and retention programs that concentrate exclusively on URM students will not benefit most low-income students since 83 percent of them are not URM. Recruiting URM students leads to more graduating students with intentions to serve minorities. Whether the income of URM students was high or low, about half in each income group stated that more than 25 percent of their patients would be underserved minorities, compared to 28 percent of the low-income non-URM students and 17 percent of the higher income non-URM students. However, our multivariable results suggest that recruitment of both low-income groups (URM and non-URM) rather than high income regardless of ethnicity might be especially helpful in producing graduates who choose public service. URM/income status was not significantly related to serving special care or rural populations.

Dental School Vacant Budgeted Faculty Positions, 2007–08

The annual turnover of dental school faculty creates a varying number of vacant budgeted positions at any given time. The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) conducts an annual survey, the ADEA Survey of Vacant Budgeted Faculty Positions, to determine the status and characteristics of these

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2008 Graduating Class

The annual survey of U.S. dental school seniors conducted by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) collects information on selected characteristics of graduating dental school seniors. The survey seeks information regarding the reasons students pursued a career in dentistry, how students

How anatomy is taught to dental students: Results of an ADEA survey to US and Canadian faculty

Members of the Anatomical Sciences Section of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) recently completed an international survey of the directors of all North American dental gross anatomy courses to assess: 1) what level of detail are specific topics and content areas being presented; 2) when in the curriculum are specific content areas are taught; 3) what areas are omitted; and 4) what other areas are of concern with regard to North American dental gross anatomists. The survey received a 95.5% response rate representing 64 (of 67) of the US and Canadian dental schools. The results of this survey indicate, amongst other things that: 1) the use of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) tools has increased; 2) emphasis on clinical topics has increased; 3) reliance upon medical school faculty and facilities is high; 4) a pattern of increased use of integrated curricula among dental schools has emerged; and 5) a general trend for a decrease in student contact hours is ongoing. The specific data are currently being analyzed and will be presented. These data will provide the framework by which course directors and administrators, in need of curricular information, can make more informed decisions in the appropriateness of content and even provide guidance in evaluation of their program.Grant Funding SourceAAA Young Faculty Travel Award – Supported by AAA Second Century Fund

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors, 2006 Graduating Class

Each year the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) conducts a survey of graduating dental school seniors. The survey seeks information regarding the reasons students pursued a career in dentistry, how students financed their dental education, students’ educational debt and percent levels

Effect of School Environment on Dental Students’ Perceptions of Cultural Competency Curricula and Preparedness to Care for Diverse Populations

Reports of oral health disparities among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic sectors of the U.S. population have hastened development of strategies to address this issue. Among these strategies is revising dental school curricula in order to develop more culturally competent graduates. The present study uses data from the 2003 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) survey of dental school seniors to assess students' perceptions of the adequacy of their cultural competency training. We hypothesize that these perceptions are influenced by multiple student characteristics and contextual factors, including a school's status with respect to the Pipeline, Professions, and Practice initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The California Endowment. Response data from ADEA survey items reflecting student perceptions of adequacy of curriculum time devoted to cultural competency and their preparedness to treat an ethnically and culturally diverse population were analyzed to assess the influence of selected student and contextual factors. Student gender, marital status, and level of educational debt were found to influence the curriculum time variable, and students at California schools reported higher perceived preparedness levels than students at dental schools nationwide. Dental school environments promoting acceptance and respect of diverse ethnicities/cultures and student race/ethnicity were significantly associated with students' perception of the adequacy of curriculum time for cultural competency and students' perception of their preparedness to provide oral health care for racially and culturally diverse groups. The findings provide insight for development of cultural competency curricula and direction for future study in this area.

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2005 Graduating Class

Each year the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) conducts a survey of graduating dental school seniors. The survey seeks information regarding the reasons students pursued a career in dentistry, how students financed their dental education, students’ educational debt and percent levels

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2004 Graduating Class

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) conducts an annual survey of graduating seniors to obtain information about their financing of dental education, graduating indebtedness, practice and postdoctoral education plans following graduation, decision factors that influenced postgraduation