Objectives. Although there have been some studies of the characteristics of orthodontic students and orthodontic programmes in the US, there has been little investigation of those in the Commonwealth. This study will attempt to identify the demographic characteristics of postgraduate orthodontic students, and the curriculum and organisation of orthodontic programmes in the English-speaking world, with the hope that this information may be used to aid in the planning of orthodontic training and future treatment provision.
Materials and Methods. An on-line survey was used to question postgraduate orthodontic students studying in the 93 programmes worldwide in countries where the first language is English. The questionnaire itself was built using the online survey tool www.surveymonkey.com and was accessible to respondents for two months (January 2007 through March 2007). Statistical analysis was then carried out using the SPSS statistical program.
Results. Of the 301 respondents, 55% were male and 45% female; 57.8% were from US programmes and 42.2% from the Commonwealth. The mean age of respondents was 29.8 years. The mean programme duration was 31.0 months in the US and 37.1 months in the Commonwealth, with the mean total patient loads being 84 and 106 respectively. A wide variety of treatment modalities were used in both groups. The mean annual tuition fee was considerably higher in the US (US$23,200) than in the Commonwealth (US$16,500); however, a higher proportion (47.2%) of US respondents received scholarships or stipends than Commonwealth respondents (29.1%). The overall mean debt upon graduation was US$118,200 and the mean expected income five years after graduation was US$283,200. Private practice was the most popular career path (90.3%), with fewer than one-third of respondents indicating that they would consider an academic career.
Conclusions. The current study indicates that the demographic characteristics of orthodontic students are very similar to those most recently reported. Certain trends have continued, such as the increasing proportion of female students, and the increase in programme duration in the US. Data presented in the clinical and financial sections of this represent the greatest areas of change. Total patient case-load is increasing, and the types of treatment being carried out by students show marked differences from previous studies. The continuing increase in tuition fees is reported, along with increased levels of debt upon graduation, and this is seen to be having an effect on the expected career paths of orthodontic students, with fewer students looking to enter an academic career. This situation may need to be addressed to ensure the continued development and strength of orthodontic faculty members, and, hence, that of orthodontic training programmes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217773 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Anning, Ross J, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. School of Dentistry |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Ross J Anning |
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