The proportion of female dentists in the industry is set to rise to over 60%, according to new Christie & Co. report.

The Dental Industry 2018, a new report from Christie and Co. shows the percentage of female dentistry undergraduates has risen to almost 64%. In today’s blog, we chat about the reasons for the increase of women in dentistry and what this could mean for the dental industry. Want to find out more? Keep on reading!

A rise in the number of female undergraduates.

Many years ago, it was not unusual for women to look out of place at dental school. You could look round a lecture theatre full of dental students and only a handful would have been female. Thankfully, the times they are a’changin!

The number of female dentistry undergraduates had been in a slow decline for many years. However, last year, in 2017, dental schools finally saw a reverse of this trend, with more and more females applying to and graduating from dental schools. Nowadays, women account for 63.4% of all dental undergraduates. This is almost a 10% increase on 2007 figures.  But what does this mean for the dental profession?

 

Women in Dentistry.

At present in the UK, females make up 49% of the dental workforce. With more and more females graduating from dental schools, this figure can only rise and therefore continue to influence workplace trends in the industry.

Traditionally, across most industries, women seek out part time roles and roles that have increased flexibility in working hours, to allow them to have a better work-life balance, particularly if they have a family at home. The same applies in the dental industry. Female dentists look for roles that have fewer working hours, or hours that are flexible around their life outside of the practice.

As such, dental practices and companies are looking to integrate different methods of working to suit a changing industry. This may take shape in the form of different opening hours or flexible working patterns.

The dental industry is changing for everyone – not just for women.

Women are certainly making waves in the dental industry, but there are some big changes ahead for all dentists. Our current political climate and the uncertainty of Brexit and what it means for the profession means that that more and more British dentists are searching out jobs abroad and taking their skill sets with them. While more and more people in the UK are becoming qualified dentists, the outflow is steady, too.

 

What do you think about women in dentistry and  the changes in the dental industry? Let us know in the comments below!