Dental students' interest in orthodontic careers: do orthodontic-related experiences and faculty and practitioner role models matter?

Objectives: To assess the percentage of dental students interested in orthodontics and likely to apply to orthodontic residency programs, the role of orthodontic-related experiences, and of orthodontic faculty and practitioner role models for student career decision-making.

Materials and methods: This study had a cross-sectional design. A total of 335 students from seven U.S. dental schools responded to an anonymous web-based survey.

Results: 35% were much/very much interested in becoming orthodontists and 26% were likely to apply for this specialty training. A total of 80.1% had orthodontic treatment, 58.7% knew an orthodontist in their community, 44% had shadowed an orthodontist, and 10.8% had worked in an orthodontic practice before dental school. Respondents evaluated orthodontic practitioners more positively than orthodontic faculty. They considered practitioners as more compassionate providers than faculty members (5-point scale with 5 = agree strongly: mean = 4.25 vs 3.83; P < .001), making more of a difference in their patients' lives (4.44 vs 4.05; P < .001), and as better role models (4.21 vs 3.94; P < .001) who encouraged students more to pursue orthodontics (4.03 vs 3.65; P < .001). Their interest in becoming an orthodontist and in applying for an orthodontic residency program correlated with educational experiences (r = 0.35; P < .001 / r = 0.34; P < .001) and positive impressions of orthodontic faculty (r = 0.23; P < .001 / r = 0.22; P < .001) and practicing orthodontists (r = 0.29; P < .001 / r = 0.27; P < .001).

Conclusions: Better understanding of factors motivating dental students to pursue orthodontics is crucial. Orthodontic practitioners and faculty play an important role in this context.