The future is in the present: the impact of generations

Among the complex mix of forces that shape our futures are differences among generations. A generation is a cohort, roughly twenty-some years in duration, where the members have experienced a common formative environment and tend to react to the world in patterned fashion. The defining characteristics of five generations are discussed: Gl, Silent, Boomers, Generation X, and the millennial generation. Implications are drawn for patient preferences as dental consumers, recruitment and management of faculty and others in organizations, and the transitions of values in leadership of professional organizations.