A survey of faculty practices in U.S. dental schools

In addition to providing a mechanism for maintenance and enhancement of the clinical skills of the faculty, intramural faculty practices are seen as an increasingly important source of revenue for dental schools. In this paper, we report on a survey conducted during academic year 1993/94 of United States dental schools as to the existence, organization, physical structure, finances and governance of their faculty practices. Results showed that all dental schools surveyed had some form of faculty practice or plan to establish a faculty practice in the future. The mean gross income of schools with established faculty practices in the 1993/94 academic year was 1.55 million dollars. Almost all sub-disciplines were represented in these faculty practices. More than 90 percent of the practices are housed within the dental school. The major cost to the faculty practice was staff salaries, with approximately 40 percent of the gross going to faculty reimbursement. Although 60 percent of the faculty practices surveyed were under the direct control of the dental school administration, a significant number of faculty practices were either corporations or partnerships. The results of the survey indicate a continuing trend towards the establishment of dental school-based intramural practices as a means of supporting the dental school budget.