Careers and patterns of work of Scottish dental graduates: 1991 and 1994

To describe current patterns of employment, career intentions and factors that influence career choice in young graduates.

A cross-sectional postal survey.

Graduates from the years 1991 and 1994 were selected to provide cohorts before and after the introduction of mandatory vocational training. A total of 232 graduates were sent questionnaires and 183 replied (77%): 90 men (49%) and 93 women (51%).

The cohorts all came from Scottish dental schools. When surveyed in 1996/1997, 66% were working in Scotland and 28% were in England. The rest were elsewhere in the UK or abroad.

A questionnaire which had been piloted, applied to medical graduates and then adapted for dentists, was used.

The most common post held was that of Associate in General Dental Practice (61% of the sample) and the majority (85%) were working full-time. Only small numbers indicated that they wished to undertake a career in academia (6) or the hospital dental service (17). In choosing a career, males were more influenced by financial factors (P = 0.009) and women by the availability of part-time employment (P = 0.000).

Despite the recent adverse publicity about general dental practice, most young dentists see their future in this sector of the profession. More worrying is the comparatively small number who wish to work within the hospital service or in academia. Results also indicate the need to develop schemes to retain women in the workforce.