Outlook of British dentists towards their profession

Dental practice in Britain has undergone significant changes in recent years. These changes have undoubtedly affected the outlook of dentists towards dentistry. This study was undertaken to examine the current outlook of general dental practitioners working in the General Dental Service. A representative sample of 1000 dentists was surveyed by mail. The response rate was 73.7 per cent. Most characteristic of the respondents' outlook on various aspects of their profession is the wide diversity of opinion. Neither respondent gender or practice location were associated with outlook. More preventively oriented dentists and those whose practices were most busy, however, were found to have a more positive outlook.