International volunteer activities of US dentists: results of a survey

Although several recent studies have gauged the participation of US dental schools and dental students in international volunteer programs, no study of US dentists' international dental volunteer activities has been published to date. The goal of this study was to quantify that participation and explore dentists' motivation for service. A web-based survey was developed, and, in August 2018, a hyperlink to a web-based survey consisting of 12 questions was sent to 19,679 US dentists whose names and contact information were obtained from a commercially obtained email list. All respondents were volunteers, and no compensation was offered. Of the 19,679 potential respondents contacted via email, 1295 (6.6%) participated in the survey. Some respondents did not answer all the survey questions. A majority (79.2%) were 51 years or older, and 41.9% of respondents reported having participated in volunteer dental activities outside the United States. Of those dentists, 99.6% reported having had positive experiences, and 98.8% reported that they would recommend this activity to other dentists. Among the respondents, 27.4% reported having volunteered more than once, and 12.1% reported that they volunteered regularly.