Dental Students' Anticipated Comfort and Willingness to Treat Specific Underserved Populations

To examine factors, exposures, and events that affect dental students' anticipated comfort and willingness to treat underserved populations.

A survey assessing exposure to, and anticipated comfort and willingness to treat nine underserved populations (low-income, homeless, non-English speakers, medically complex, mentally compromised, Medicaid users, drug users, frail elderly, and people with HIV/AIDS), and social responsibility was given to first (D1) and second (D2) year dental students in fall 2024. Students also indicated whether their clinical experiences, volunteer events, faculty, peers, or courses affected their willingness to treat the underserved.

Surveys were returned by 114 of 140 D1 (84.4%), and 65 of 100 D2 students (65.0%). There were no differences in feelings of social responsibility by school year, gender, or race (p > 0.10). In regressions, social responsibility was positively associated with anticipated comfort treating frail elderly (p = 0.03) and people with HIV/AIDS (p = 0.02), and with willingness to treat almost all underserved populations (p's < 0.03). Exposure to each specific underserved population was associated with greater anticipated comfort treating that population after dental school (p < 0.03). Exposure to drug users and people with HIV/AIDS was associated with greater anticipated willingness to treat these populations (p = 0.01 and p = 0.03). Clinical experiences had the greatest impact on students, with 80.9% indicating they increased willingness to care for underserved populations.

Exposing dental students to clinical experiences with a wide variety of underserved populations may enable them to become more comfortable and willing to treat a diversity of underserved populations after dental school, thereby potentially increasing access to care.