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Longitudinal sex representation in US dental schools from 2011 through 2025
Linda Sangalli1, Suchi Patel2, Grace De Souza3
1College of Dental Medicine-Illinois, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL.
Background:
The dental care profession continues to evolve alongside broader societal efforts to enhance diversity and representation in health care. The authors examined sex distributions among applicants, first-year students, and graduates in US predoctoral dental programs from 2011-2012 through 2024-2025, relative to the US adult population composition, and compared the sex distributions of public and private programs.
Methods:
Publicly available data on applicants, first-year students, and graduates according to sex were extracted from the American Dental Association Survey of Dental Education for 75 US dental schools from 2011-2012 through 2024-2025 and compared with the sex distribution of US adult population from the American Community Survey. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs were obtained from two by two risk-based estimates. χ2 tests compared sex proportions between public and private schools.
Results:
Across the 14-year study period, there were significant shifts in sex representation. In 2011-2012, female applicants (PR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.87), first-year students (PR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.93), and graduates (PR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.92) were slightly underrepresented relative to the US adult population. By 2024-2025, women became slightly overrepresented among applicants (PR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.16), first-year students (PR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.17), and graduates (PR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.13). The shift toward greater female representation was observed in both public and private schools, although the shift was more pronounced in private institutions.
Conclusions:
There is evidence of a shift toward greater representation of women in US predoctoral dental programs, especially within private institutions, that is similar to the US adult population.
Practical Implications:
A more representative dental workforce may enhance access to equitable oral health care across diverse populations.
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