Demographic profile and future expectations of students enrolled in a Turkish private dental school

The purposes of this study were to obtain information about the social and demographic profile of students enrolled in the first private Turkish dental school, to gather information regarding the reasons for their preferences, and to obtain data about their career expectations. Questionnaires were distributed to 278 students; 229 returned the survey for an overall response rate of 82 percent. Of the respondents, 145 (65.5 percent) were females and seventy-five (34.5 percent) were males; they had an average age of 21.62±1.58. First degree relative (mother, father, sibling) had the greatest influence on the students in choosing dentistry as a career. Fathers and mothers had similar impact on the students' choice of dental profession (45.9 percent and 46.6 percent, respectively). Humanistic feelings, desire to serve others, and reasonable working hours were the predominant reasons that motivated females to become a dentist (p<0.05). Also, academic interest and interest in a medical field were significantly influencing factors for female students (p<0.05 and p=0.001, respectively). One-hundred and ninety-seven students (86 percent) expressed a goal of specializing in a specific branch of dentistry; orthodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery were the top-ranked specialties. Although only 41 percent of the students were of Istanbul origin, 82.5 percent reported that they wish to practice in Istanbul.