Pediatric dentists' job satisfaction: results of a national survey

The purpose of this study was to determine pediatric dentists' level of job satisfaction and to explore which factors (demographic and practice/work/patient characteristics) are related to their satisfaction.

Data were collected with mailed surveys from 385 and with web-based surveys from 966 pediatric dentists in the United States. Professional satisfaction was measured with the Professional Satisfaction Scale and the Dentists' Satisfaction Scale.

Most respondents would choose dentistry (89 percent) and pediatric dentistry (92 percent) again and would recommend dentistry (85 percent) and pediatric dentistry (83 percent) to their child as a career. Male respondents were more satisfied with income, personal and professional time, staff, and practice management aspects, and female respondents were more satisfied with patient relations. The older the dentists were, the more satisfied they were. Respondents in academia were less stressed and less satisfied with their income than respondents in nonacademic settings. The more time spent in the operatory and the less administrative work, the more satisfied the respondents were. The fewer patients from a lower socioeconomic background they treated, the more satisfied they were.

Overall, pediatric dentists have a high level of job satisfaction. Demographic factors and practice/work/patient characteristic are related to job satisfaction.