What Do Women (Dentists) Want?

Do female dentists' work requirements differ from those of their male counterparts? Dr. Raymond Kuthy, PPC researcher and professor at the University of Iowa's department of preventive and community dentistry,  addressed this question in a poster presented at the American Academy for Dental Research (AADR) 2012 meeting in Tampa, FL. Dr. Kuthy was interviewed about the study by Dr. Bicuspid.com for an article called How Being a Mom Affects Female Dentists' Work Habits. 

The study estimates that by 2020, 30% of U.S. dentists will be female. As a result, "we wanted to see if there are factors we can look at to understand the needs and wants of women dentists," Kuthy explained. The researchers were interested in the number of hours that female dentists in Iowa worked weekly, with full time defined as 32 or more hours per week. They considered whether factors such as minor children and percent contribution to the household income had an influence on the number of hours worked. 

Data collection took the form of a survey sent to all dentists in the Iowa Dentist Tracking System. Only female respondents were used in the analysis. One-hundred and ninety-two of Iowa's 304 female dentists responded, for a response rate of 63%. 

The Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation funded this research.