Socio-economic and schooling status of dental undergraduates from six French universities

The aim of this study was to evaluate the socio-economic status of French undergraduate dental students.

A 46-item questionnaire was completed by the dental students of six universities between 1992 and 1995. Subjects related to family background, housing, schooling, income, expenditure and participation in student life were investigated.

A total of 1192 out of 1207 questionnaires were returned. Both genders had equal access to dental training. The average overall cost of the four last years of the dental course was 30,302 French francs and varied greatly between faculties, as did the number of hours spent at the faculty for lectures, tutorials and practicals, and clinical work. Overall, the majority of students came from a well off social background, and had a relatively high quality of life while a small minority received no support from their families. Thirty-four per cent of students had never worked. One third of students smoked and one third regularly consumed medication of some sort. A third did not participate in any sport. Only 25% students bought dental text books and 42% of the students reported using the library regularly.

This study offers an accurate description of the socio-economic status of French dental students that could be used as a reference for comparable studies in other European countries.