Journal of dental education
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New dental educators (n = 280) with zero to five years full-time teaching experience were surveyed to ascertain their perceptions regarding salary, work environment, and workload to determine the impact of these factors on faculty recruitment and retention. Work environment was the most frequently reported factor for considering and maintaining an academic dentistry position. ⋯ Other factors of concern to new faculty included quality of administration and leadership, reputation of program, professional development opportunities, faculty autonomy, and reasonable criteria for tenure and promotion. These findings suggest that resources, strategies, and formal mentoring programs that provide direction and guidance in the areas of teaching, promotion, and tenure for new educators should be considered for implementation in our dental schools.
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The American Dental Education Association's 1998-1999 Survey of Clinic Fees and Revenue obtained data by which to report, by school, clinic revenue information per undergraduate student. Fifty of the fifty-five U. S. dental schools responded to the survey. ⋯ Clinic revenue data was also obtained by type of postdoctoral program. The postdoctoral general dentistry programs had the highest per student clinic revenues, at over $59,000 per AEGD student and almost $35,000 per student of GPR programs. Other areas of the survey provided information regarding clinic fees by type of program, levels of uncompensated care by type of program, clinic revenue by source of payment, and dental school fees as a percent of usual and customary private practice fees.
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Dental care is the most common unmet health care need of children. Those at increased risk for problems with oral health and access to care are from poor or minority families, lack health insurance, or have special health care needs. These factors place more than 52 percent of children at risk for untreated oral disease. ⋯ Children's oral health care is the shared moral responsibility of dental and other professionals working with children, parents, and society. Academic dental centers hold in trust the training of oral health professionals for society and have a special responsibility to train future professionals to meet children's needs. Leadership in this area is urgently needed.
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Comparative Study
Factors considered by new faculty in their decision to choose careers in academic dentistry.
To determine the characteristics of new dental faculty and what factors influenced them to choose academic careers, a survey was sent to deans at all U. S. dental schools to be distributed to faculty with length of service of four years or less. Responses were received from 240 individuals. ⋯ The data from this select group of dentists support the current view that inequities in income of dental faculty compared to private practitioners and student debt are important concerns in choosing academic careers. Importantly, the desire to teach and participate in scholarly activities are important attractions in academic careers. Mentoring activities and creation of opportunities for career development are crucial factors in developing interest in academics among graduate dentists.