Changes in the values of dental students and dentists over a ten-year period

This paper investigates value changes in dental students and dentists over a ten-year period through a cross-sectional study of all dental students at the University of Minnesota in 1966 and 1976, and a ten-year longitudinal study of a class of dental students who entered in 1967. Findings in both studies showed significant differences in values over the ten-year period, but they could not be attributed to the dental school experience. Findings also showed that the values of the dentists in the longitudinal study changed significantly over the ten years from 1967 to 1977, to resemble those of dental school freshmen in 1976. Comparisons of the two studies indicated that changes in social values and the social pressures of professional role development could have accounted for the findings.