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A study of the endodontic workforce in Australia in 2010
1School of Dentistry, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
Aims:
To investigate the current workforce situation for specialist Endodontists in Australia to help plan for the future of the specialty.
Methodology:
An online questionnaire was sent via email to all registered Endodontists that were identified from the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Endodontists database and the Australian Dental Association Directory. The questionnaire comprised questions on demographic characteristics, practice type, teaching and research activities, busyness and expected retirement time. All results were transferred to a statistical software program (SPSS v.19) for analysis.
Results:
The response rate was 50%. The majority of respondents (84%) were male. The most common (64.5%) type of practice was single location private practice. The majority (93%) of Endodontists are located in state capital cities. Many respondents (61%) did some teaching. A minority of respondents (16%) were currently involved in research. The next available nonemergency appointment was more than 1 week away for 84% of respondents. More than half the respondents (52%) do not have allocated time for emergency patients. Only 18% of respondents plan to retire in the next 5 years and another 15% within 5-10 years. Although 58% of practice owners indicated that they have sufficient space and facilities to employ another Endodontist, only 33% would consider to employ or have an associate join their practice.
Conclusion:
Most Endodontists in Australia are male private practitioners who work in a single state capital city location. Many teach but few carry out research. They are fully booked with routine patients and have no spare scheduled appointments for emergencies; these have to be seen at the end of the day, or between scheduled patients. There will be a steady rate of retirement in the future and only just enough newly qualified Endodontists are being trained to maintain the specialty workforce at current levels.
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