The percentage of dental students interested in private practice after graduation has increased by three percentage points in the last 10 years, according to the American Dental Education Association's Trends in Dental Education report for the 2023-24 academic year.
The ADEA received 3,048 responses to questions about dental students' immediate plans after graduation.
Here is how dental students' immediate professional plans after graduation compared in 2023 to 2013:
2023
Private practice dentist: 53%
Advanced education: 36%
Government service or nonprofit: 8%
Unsure: 2%
Other: 0.3%
Teaching: 0.4%
2013
Private practice dentist: 50%
Advanced education: 35%
Government service or nonprofit: 10%
Unsure: 3%
Other: 2%
Teaching: 0.5%