The effects of gender and race on practice pattern preferences of dental students

Type of practice arrangement is an important decision for student dentists, and one that has implications for the future delivery of dental care. This study examined the effects of two student-related characteristics, gender and race, on dental student preferences for three practice arrangements: solo ownership, group ownership, and employee practice. Dental students read content-validated practice descriptions and rated each practice in terms of long-range practice preferences. The descriptions differed according to three practice-related factors: (a) decision-making autonomy, (b) income opportunity, and (c) financial risk. The independent variables were student gender and student race. The dependent variable was student rating of a dental practice. Results indicated that student preferences for different practice arrangements differ by gender and by race. Males rated the solo owner arrangement more favorably than did females and Whites rated the solo owner arrangement more favorably than did African Americans. Also, females demonstrated a stronger preference for group practice than did males, while African Americans rated the employee practice arrangement more favorably than did Whites.