Academic Dentistry Research Articles

Choosing Academia Versus Private Practice: Factors Affecting Residents' Career Decisions

Research on the future workforce in academic dentistry and oral surgery showed that a lack of dental educators can be expected. This study explored which factors affect oral surgery residents' decision-making process concerning choosing a career as an educator versus private practitioner. Specifically, this study investigates how three groups of factors, namely background characteristics (gender, race, marital status), level of engagement in different professional activities such as types of surgeries conducted and preferred, and professional values affect whether residents intend to go into private practice versus academic careers. A population study of the residents in oral maxillofacial residency programs in the US was conducted. In the first week of October 2010, recruitment emails were sent to all 535 residents in these oral surgery residency programs. A total of 51 emails could not be delivered. In response to the 484 delivered emails, 271 residents (response rate = 56%) responded to a web based survey. This survey consisted of questions concerning the residents' background characteristics, their career decision-making considerations, professional activities and values, and their job satisfaction. The data were analyzed with SPSS. While 65% of the respondents indicated that they intended to have a career in private practice, 35% intended or considered becoming academicians. The responses of the future private practitioners were compared with the responses of the residents who intended/considered to become educators. χ2 analyses were used to compare the responses to the categorical variables and independent sample t tests were conducted to test whether the average responses of the 2 groups were different. The results showed that there were significant differences in the background characteristics of the 2 groups: residents who considered academia as their future profession were more likely to be female (% female of educators: 29% vs % female practitioners: 8%; P < .001), were more likely to be non white (37% vs 20%; P = .006), were less likely to be married (43% vs 71%; P < .001) and had on average fewer children (0.33 vs 0.84; P < .001). No significant differences between these 2 groups were found in the way they financed their education, in the level of accumulated debt, and in their involvement in research both in dental school and during their residency program. However, there were significant differences in their involvement in different surgical activities and their preferences for different types of surgeries. While future educators spent a lower percentage of their time on dentoalveolar surgeries (45% vs 67%; P < .001) and significantly more time on surgeries related to trauma (18% vs 12%; P < .001), orthognathic surgery (17% vs 12%; P < .001), and craniofacial surgeries (9% vs 6%; P = .024) than future clinicians. These rates of engagement in different types of surgeries paralleled the level of enjoyment that these 2 groups of respondents reported for these professional activities. In addition, the 2 groups also differed in their professional values with future clinicians valuing having manageable hours, less time in the operating room and more time without patients more than future educators. In conclusion, understanding how residents who plan to become private practitioners differ in their background characteristics, professional activities, and values from residents who consider becoming dental educators might contribute to developing measures to increase the number of academics in oral maxillofacial surgery departments and thus avoid the shortage of educators in this field in the future.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report of 2011 and the Future of Academic Dentistry

Journal of ProsthodonticsVolume 20, Issue 6 p. 427-427 Editorial The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report of 2011 and the Future of Academic Dentistry David A. Felton DDS, MS, FACP, David A. Felton DDS, MS, FACP Editor-in-Chief Search for more papers by this author David A. Felton DDS, MS, FACP, David A. Felton DDS, MS, FACP Editor-in-Chief Search for more papers by this author First published: 15 August 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-849X.2011.00749.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume20, Issue6August 2011Pages 427-427 RelatedInformation

Preformed Metal Crowns may be the most Successful Restorative Treatment for Primary Molars

Efficacy of preformed metal crowns vs. amalgam restorations in primary molars: a systematic review. Randall R, Vrijhoef M, Wilson N. J Am Dent Assoc 2000;131(3):337-43. Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, DDS, PhD To conduct a systematic review of clinical studies comparing the longevity and failure rates of amalgam restorations in primary molars versus primary molars restored with preformed metal crowns. Information not available in the article; 2 of the 3 authors were industry employed and 1 author was employed in academic dentistry. Systematic review Level 2: Limited-quality, patient-oriented evidence Grade B: Inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence

How Academic Dentistry will Emerge from this Economic Crisis?

Sompop Bencharit, DDS, MS, PhD, FACP, Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA, E-mail: Sompop_Bencharit@dentistry.unc.edu

Minority Dental Faculty Development: Responsibility and Challenge

Over at least the last twenty years, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has given attention and priority to increasing the number of underrepresented minority (URM) dental school applicants, enrollees, and faculty members and to meeting the challenges of achieving diversity in the oral health workforce of the future as racial and ethnic minorities continue to grow and are expected to comprise more than 50 percent of the U.S. population by the middle of the twenty-first century. Dental schools have the responsibility of preparing dentists to provide oral health care for the nation's population. This includes creating a workforce of adequate size and racial/ethnic composition. As part of ADEA's priorities to improve the recruitment, retention, and development of URMs in the dental profession, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, ADEA launched the Minority Dental Faculty Development Program in 2004. The intent of the program is to foster academic partnerships, mentoring, and institutional commitment and leadership designed to increase the number of URM individuals interested in and prepared for careers in academic dentistry.

Adenomyosis to uterine transplantation

Adenomyosis to uterine transplantation

Advancing Women Faculty to Senior Leadership in U.S. Academic Health Centers: Fifteen Years of History in the Making

In 1993 the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Q1 Academic Medicine (ELAM) program was developed in response to concerns regarding the organizational climate and leadership opportunities available to faculty women within academic health centers. Since that time the ELAM program has garnered a reputation as the premier leadership program for women in academic medicine, dentistry, and public health in the United States and Canada. This article details the design of the program and its curricular components as well as the conceptual framework and strategies that underlie it. The success of the program is demonstrated by demographic data on participants and their institutions; pre and postsurvey research on participants’ and comparison groups’ knowledge and skills; surveys of medical and dental school deans regarding their perceptions of program impact; the leadership career trajectory of ELAM fellows; and the development of leadership programs and numerous consultations based on the ELAM model.

What the ADEA CCI Series of Articles Means to Me: Reflections of a Mid‐Career Dental Faculty Member

In this reflection article, Dr. Karen Novak, a mid-career faculty member at a U.S. dental school, identifies important messages and insights she gained from a series of twenty-one articles about the future of dental education published in the Journal of Dental Education from October 2005 to February 2009. This article addresses four questions: 1) What influence have these articles had on an academic dentist's perspectives about her role and priorities as a dental school faculty member and her own career plans and future directions? 2) What are the key messages in these articles for other dental educators who are at similar places in their careers? 3) What additional topics concerning the future of academic dentistry should be covered in future articles? and 4) What issues and priorities should receive the most attention from academic dentistry in the next decade? The American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) was established to provide a mechanism for stakeholders in academic dentistry to meet and consider future directions in the education of the nation's dental workforce. Along with ADEA, these stakeholders included dental schools, the American Dental Association (ADA) Board of Trustees, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL), the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), the dental licensure community, the ADA Foundation, and advanced dental education programs. The ADEA CCI was created to build consensus within the dental community for innovative changes in the education of general dentists. One outcome of this process was a series of articles intended to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about issues and forces shaping the future of dental education. Collectively, this series of articles is known as the Perspectives and Reflections in Dental Education (PRIDE) series to acknowledge the commitment of the academic dental community to reflect on current practices and future directions and also to represent the pride of dental school faculty members in their educational responsibilities and accomplishments.

What the ADEA CCI Series of Articles Means to Me: Reflections of a Dental School Dean

In this reflection article, Dr. Huw F. Thomas, a U.S. dental school dean, identifies important messages and insights he gained from a series of twenty-one articles about the future of dental education published in the Journal of Dental Education from October 2005 to February 2009. This article addresses three questions: 1) What influence have these articles had on a dental school dean's perspectives about his role and priorities? 2) What important messages are contained within these articles for fellow deans? and 3) What messages do these articles send to dental education in general? The American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) was established to facilitate change and innovation in dental education. Through the ADEA CCI, ADEA brought together stakeholders in academic dentistry: dental schools, the American Dental Association (ADA) Board of Trustees, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL), the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), the dental licensure community, the ADA Foundation, and advanced dental education programs. The goal of the ADEA CCI is to provide a forum to build consensus within the dental community for innovative changes in the education of general dentists. As part of the consensus-building process, the ADEA CCI commissioned a series of articles, published in the Journal of Dental Education, to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about issues and forces shaping the future of dental education and propose strategies to achieve desired enhancements. Collectively, this series of articles is known as the Perspectives and Reflections in Dental Education (PRIDE) series to acknowledge the commitment of the academic dental community to reflect on current practices and future directions and also to represent the pride of dental school faculty members in their educational responsibilities and accomplishments.

Thoughts on the Economy, Academic Dentistry, and the Specialty of Prosthodontics

Thoughts on the Economy, Academic Dentistry, and the Specialty of Prosthodontics

Is Dentistry at Risk? A Case for Interprofessional Education

The goal of interprofessional education (IPE) is to bring various professional groups together in the educational environment to promote collaborative practice and improve the health care of patients. Interest in IPE has been sparked by several factors in the health care system, including the increased awareness of oral-systemic connections, an aging population, the shift of the burden of illness from acute to chronic care, and lack of access to basic oral care. Increasingly, since the publication of the U.S. surgeon general's report in 2000, the dialogue surrounding IPE in dentistry has escalated. But how has dentistry changed regarding IPE since the report was released? This position paper argues that little has changed in the way dental students are taught and prepared to participate in IPE. The authors contend that academic dentistry and organized dentistry must take the lead in initiating and demanding IPE if dental students are to be prepared to work in the health care environment of the twenty-first century. Included are reasons why IPE is necessary and why dentistry must lead the conversation and participate in the solution to the oral health care crisis. It explores existing models and alternate approaches to IPE, barriers to implementation, and proposed strategies for academic institutions.

Leadership Development for Dental Students: What Do Students Think?

Effective leaders are needed to move the dental profession forward, building on past accomplishments, meeting new challenges, and leading innovation and change. There is a lack of research findings regarding students' perceptions of the importance of leadership abilities and/or their interest in developing leadership skills during their dental school experience. The purpose of this study was to explore dental students' perceptions related to leadership development. A forty-seven-question, self-administered, paper and pencil survey was administered to all students enrolled in the D.M.D. program at one Midwestern dental school. The response rate was 83 percent (225/272). The majority of students agreed that it is important for dentists to have leadership skills and that leadership skills can be learned. Most reported that they expect to assume a leadership role in their dental practices (97 percent), to participate in volunteerism in dentistry (85 percent), and to participate in non-dentistry-related leadership roles in the community (72 percent). Over one-third (37 percent) anticipate participating in leadership roles in dental associations, 28 percent in academic dentistry, and 14 percent in military dentistry. Approximately two-thirds of respondents agreed (42 percent) or strongly agreed (24 percent) that they would be interested in participating in a leadership development program if one were offered at their school. Students reported interest in improving their confidence, assertiveness, ability to communicate effectively (including public speaking), ability to listen to others, organizational skills, and ability to influence others. The results of this study suggest that many dental students are interested in developing leadership skills. Insights from this study can inform the design of leadership development programs.

Academic dentistry failing to recruit, says survey

Academic dentistry failing to recruit, says survey

The Quality of Dental Faculty Work‐Life: Report on the 2007 Dental School Faculty Work Environment Survey

This report is the third in a series of articles on the dental school work environment commissioned by the American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education. The report is based on the most extensive research to date on faculty satisfaction in the dental school environment. The purpose of the study was to assess faculty perceptions and recommendations related to work environment, sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and professional development needs. More broadly, the study intends to provide insight into the "change readiness" of dental schools to move forward with curricular improvements and innovations. Findings are based on 1,748 responses from forty-nine U.S. dental schools obtained during the time frame of February to April 2007. The total number of respondents constituted 17 percent of all U.S. dental school faculty. The average response rate per school was thirty-six (21 percent). To elucidate the data in terms of issues related to the quality of faculty work-life based on demographics, the authors compared perceptions of various aspects of the work culture in academic dentistry among faculty with different academic ranks and academic degrees and by other variables such as age and gender, tenure versus non-tenure appointments, and full- versus part-time status. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that the majority of faculty members described themselves as very satisfied to satisfied with their dental school overall and with their department as a place to work. Tenured associate professors expressed the greatest level of dissatisfaction. Opportunities for and support of professional development emerged as an area requiring substantially more attention from dental schools. The authors of the study suggest that dental school leaders use these findings to assess their individual dental school's work environment and to plan changes as needed.

Reflections on Academic Careers by Current Dental School Faculty

During the inaugural year (2006-07) of the Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program (ADCFP), 110 faculty members at ten different dental schools were interviewed by dental students who were participating as ADCFP fellows in this year-long program designed to introduce them to faculty roles and activities and help them gain an appreciation for the rewards and issues associated with academic life. The goals, format, and components of the ADCFP are described in a companion article in this issue of the Journal of Dental Education. One of the fellows' assignments during the ADCFP was to interview faculty at various academic ranks who had differing degrees of work emphasis in teaching, research, service/patient care, and administration. Sixty-nine (63 percent of the total) of these interviews were reviewed and analyzed by the authors, who were student fellows in the ADCFP during 2006-07. The purpose of these interviews was to provide the fellows with insight into the positive aspects and challenges in becoming and remaining a dental school faculty member. This aggregate perspective of the interviews conducted at ten dental schools highlights the motivations and challenges that confront a dentist during the process of choosing a career in academic dentistry and determining if dental education is a good fit for each individual who elects to pursue this pathway. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed several factors consistently identified by faculty across the schools as being positive influences on the quality of the academic work environment and career satisfaction: mentorship and student interaction, opportunities for scholarship (research and discovery), job diversity, intellectual challenge, satisfaction with the nature of academic work, lifestyle/family compatibility, flexibility, lifelong learning, professional duty, and lab responsibility. A series of negative themes were also consistently identified: bureaucracy/administrative burdens and barriers, time commitment, financial frustration, political frustration, lack of mentorship, required research emphasis, lack of teaching skills development, student engagement, isolation, and funding uncertainty. This article reports the approximate frequency of each theme, presents representative statements that describe the motivations and attitudes of dental faculty members who were interviewed, and concludes with a review of programs/methods aimed at marketing academic careers to current students. The purpose of this review of the rewards, benefits, and challenges that current dental faculty face is to provide students who are considering dental education with a frame of reference to guide their further exploration of this career path and to help students appreciate the many positive aspects of academic life that may not be readily apparent from their own interactions with faculty members.

The Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program: A Pilot Program to Introduce Dental Students to Academia

The Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program (ADCFP) was established in 2006 by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) with the financial support of the ADA Foundation to encourage dental students to consider careers in dental education and to provide participating fellows with insights into academic life. The ADA Foundation provided funding during the 2006-07 academic year for eleven dental student fellows, who were paired with faculty mentors at their respective schools. Fellows and mentors attended a two-day retreat in the summer of 2006, and over the course of the subsequent year in dental school, the fellows with guidance from their mentors participated in preclinical laboratory, classroom, small-group, and clinical teaching experiences; designed and implemented a research project; developed a philosophy of education; completed career reflection essays; assembled a portfolio to represent their ADCFP activities and projects; conducted a series of interviews with faculty designed to expose students to roles, issues, and career paths in academic dentistry; and presented a synopsis of their experiences at the ADEA Annual Session in New Orleans in March 2007. The fellows and mentors completed midyear and end-of-year evaluations of the ADCFP in which feedback and recommendations were collected by telephone interviews and questionnaires. Fellows reported positive experiences and an increased interest in and understanding of academic careers. Mentors also evaluated the ADCFP positively and reported enhancements in their mentoring skills. This article describes the goals and format of the ADCFP, summarizes program evaluation data elicited from the fellows and mentors, and proposes recommendations for future fellowship classes.

Concerns About Finances, Faculty, and Clinics: A Dental School Dean's Perspective on the Macy Study Report

Let me begin with some personal reflections. My choice of academic dentistry grew from an opportunity to participate as a scholar, from 1985 through 1987, in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Dental Health Services Program. Many thoughtful and generous dental academic leaders worked together in

Clinical academics required to avert training crisis

I started my life in academic dentistry in 1982, when there was a crisis due to a dearth of young scientists coming into the career. Once again clinical academia is in crisis both in medicine and dentistry – and this time it is a global phenomenon. In 1982 the government's response was a New Blood lectureship scheme to attract young scientists into the academy. Of the three such posts in dentistry, all holders are now professors in UK dental schools. This initiative was a success by any standards but recruitment was small and the impact on staffing levels in universities limited.

Does Faculty Development Enhance Teaching Effectiveness?

Academic dentists and members of the practice community have been hearing, for more than a decade, that our educational system is in trouble and that the profession has lost its vision and may be wavering in the achievement of its goals. A core of consistently recommended reforms has framed the discussion of future directions for dental education, but as yet, most schools report little movement toward implementation of these reforms in spite of persistent advocacy. Provision of faculty development related to teaching and assessment strategies is widely perceived to be the essential ingredient in efforts to introduce new curricular approaches and modify the educational environment in academic dentistry. Analyses of the outcomes of efforts to revise health professions curricula have identified the availability and effectiveness of faculty development as a predictor of the success or failure of reform initiatives. This article will address faculty development for purposes of enhancing teaching effectiveness and preparing instructors for potential new roles associated with curriculum changes. Its overall purpose is to provide information and insights about faculty development that may be useful to dental schools in designing professional growth opportunities for their faculty. Seven questions are addressed: 1) What is faculty development? 2) How is faculty development accomplished? 3) Why is faculty development particularly important in dental education? 4) What happens when faculty development does not accompany educational reform? 5) Why are teaching attitudes and behaviors so difficult to change? 6) What outcomes can be expected from faculty development? and 7) What does the available evidence tell us about the design of faculty development programs? Evidence from systematic reviews pertaining to the teaching of evidence-based dentistry, strategies for continuing professional education, and the Best Evidence in Medical Education review of faculty development outcomes are presented to answer this question: does faculty development enhance teaching effectiveness? Characteristics consistently associated with effective faculty development are described.

Barriers to leadership positions for Indian women in academic dentistry

Indian women, have come up a long way during the past 50 years. Gone are the days when the leadership positions in dentistry and health care professions were occupied solely by males and the women in-charge were looked down upon as anomalies. The staff rooms in dental and medical schools, the research laboratories in India today are employing women, who have quietly begun challenging the conventional male ideas that had shaped the policies earlier on. Women have advanced considerably in academic dentistry but like every coin, this story too, has two sides. In spite of the considerable gain in equity of status, women in research and academic careers related to health care professions still face innumerable barriers to their careers. This study was conducted with an aim to highlight the various barriers being faced by women in leadership positions in academic dentistry in India and this paper also suggests issues which require global concern for unbiased advancement of women. This was a questionnaire-based study in which the subjects were women in leadership positions in the various dental colleges in India. The questions are related to the various barriers like family commitments, attitude of the society, sexual harassment, gender bias and lack of cooperation from spouse which hinders the development of the careers of such women with tremendous potential. The results show that 67% of the subjects feel there are more barriers to their careers as women than men and health care professions definitely need more women leaders for improvement in women's health status globally. 63.5% of women in dentistry feel their family commitments are barriers to rising in their careers and 64.7% report that a marriage is happier if the husband's career graph is better than wife's. The survey results indicate that the same salary is paid to 93.5% women as their male colleagues. The results of the study show that there certainly has been a change in outlook of Indian women as they have broken the traditional norms and taken up careers in academic dentistry. There certainly is a positive side to this story but numerous challenges especially in the form of family commitments still remain for women in leadership positions in the dental colleges in India.