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Student drop-out from UK dental schools
1Department of Dental Prosthetics and Gerontology, University of Dundee.
Objective:
To determine the level of student drop-out from UK dental schools and to establish if drop-out is increasing, remaining steady or decreasing.
Design:
Retrospective analysis of data from the University Statistical Record.
Setting:
UK dental schools 1989-1994.
Subjects And Methods:
The data covered all dental students entering and leaving dental schools during the relevant time period.
Results:
The drop-out rate from UK dental schools between 1989 and 1994 ranged from 8.4% to 16.8% and is equivalent to the output of two to three medium-sized dental schools. Drop-out rate was higher in the three most recent years studied (1992-1994; 14.8%) than in the three earliest years studied (1989-1991; 10.6%).
Conclusions:
Student drop-out is a significant and increasing problem for UK dental schools. Unless controlled, it will result in fewer dentists qualifying in the UK and exacerbate shortages in qualified dentists that may occur in future years.