Dental school applicants by state compared to population and dentist workforce distribution.

Millions of Americans face significant barriers that limit their access to oral health care, including the lack of dental health care professionals willing to provide dental services in underserved areas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the geographic distribution of dental school applicants and the population and number of dentists by state. Data from the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS), the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Department of Commerce were used to determine the total number of dental school applicants, dentists, and populations by individual state. Results suggest that, based on national averages, the majority of states may have too few dentists to meet current and future state population needs. Also, many of these same states may have too few dental school applicants when compared to state population and dental workforce figures. It was concluded that states may wish to consider targeted initiatives aimed at increasing the sizes of their dental school applicant pools in order to help address current and future local or regional dental workforce needs.

Nonacademic characteristics of dental school applicants.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the average dental school applicant's participation in four nonacademic areas: shadowing, extracurricular activities, volunteer experiences, and research. Demographic, academic, and nonacademic information was compared for 12 percent of all applicants to U.S. dental schools in 2005. Applicants had an average GPA of 3.23 and DAT Academic Average of 18.6. Applicants participated in an average of 3.7 extracurricular activities, 3.2 volunteer experiences, and 0.8 research projects. The average nondental employee applicant shadowed 172 hours. As shadowing hours increased, GPA declined. While academically similar, women reported significantly greater (p<.05) participation in all four nonacademic areas than males. Overall, Hispanic students reported the most shadowing hours and had the greatest percentage of parents as dentists, while black students had the least in both areas. Black students reported the most extracurricular activities. More than 90 percent of all applicants participated in three or four of the major nonacademic areas. Participation in extracurricular activities, volunteer experiences, and research projects was correlated; however, there was no relationship between shadowing hours and the other areas. Applicants with the most shadowing tended to be less academically qualified. The typical applicant reported a total of approximately eight extracurricular, volunteer, and research endeavors and 170 or more hours of shadowing. Results of this study can assist dental admissions committees in making qualitative comparisons between applicants with similar academic qualifications and aid health career counselors in advising predental students.

Predental enrichment activities of U.S. colleges and universities.

The purpose of this study was to examine predental enrichment activities and their impact on the number of applicants from some of the nation's top dental school feeder institutions (DSFI). The DSFI were identified by their total number of applicants to dental schools and the number of applicants per total student enrollment. A survey consisting of twenty-seven questions on possible predental enrichment activities was administered by phone or sent by email to eighty-eight DSFI, with forty-nine responding. In addition to identifying and characterizing the most common predental enrichment activities, the relationships among the number of applicants, predental activities, and total student enrollments per institution were evaluated. The total number of dental school applicants/institution was correlated with the total student enrollment/institution (r=0.529) and the number of predental activities/institution (r=0.520). No correlation was observed between the number of activities at an institution and dental school applicants per thousand enrolled. Sixteen of the DSFI reported ten or more enrichment activities, the most common being preprofessional health advising (96 percent), dentistry club (88 percent), and volunteer programs (73 percent). In general, larger institutions produced more applicants and provided more enrichment activities. However, there was no correlation between the number of dental school applicants per thousand students enrolled and the number of activities at an institution. Results indicate that there are specific predental enrichment activities common to some of the top dental school feeder institutions in the United States. A better understanding of successful feeder programs may assist nonfeeder schools in developing or strengthening an interest in dentistry as a career option.

Iatrogenic molar borings in 18th and early 19th century Native American dentitions.

Six iatrogenic dental borings were identified in four individuals of a Native American skeletal collection from an 18th and early 19th century Middle Columbia River burial site. The borings, all in maxillary first molars with severe dental attrition and secondary dentin, demonstrate striated walls and associated periapical alveolar lesions. An ethnographic review of the subsistence pattern during the burial period indicates a diet that is consistent in dental attrition with other riverine fisher-hunter-gathers. Histological changes of dental pulp tissue during the process of attrition may result in dental necrosis. Access into the pulp chamber is a technique used to drain necrotic fluid. A common Euro-American therapeutic dental practice of the 18th and 19th centuries for diseases of the pulp was dental extraction. Multiple dental borings indicate that the practice of molar drilling into the pulp chamber was an effective and independent technique used by the Wishram and Wasco people.

Characteristics of dental school feeder institutions.

A major challenge faced by all dental schools is the need to attract highly qualified student applicants. The purpose of this study was to use 2002-03 AADSAS data to identify and characterize feeder colleges and universities that are the major source of applicants to U.S. dental schools. Feeder schools were defined as any institutions with five or more applicants, and minority-feeder schools as those with two or more minority applicants. Feeder schools were ranked by their total numbers of applicants (Category 1) and by their ratio of applicants to total undergraduate enrollment (Category 2). Feeder institutions were compared using total enrollment, degree status, geographic distribution, religious affiliation, numbers of minority applicants, and college admissions selectivity criteria. The top fifty Category 1 schools had an average enrollment of over 19,000 students and an average of sixty-seven applicants. The top fifty Category 2 schools had an average enrollment of approximately 8,500 students and an average of forty-nine applicants. Less than 1 percent of applicants from the top feeder institutions attended the nation's most competitive schools. California and Utah accounted for 28 percent of the total applicants from feeder institutions, followed by Florida (6.2 percent) and New York (5.7 percent). Seventeen of the top twenty-five Category 2 schools (68 percent) were affiliated with or had student bodies associated with a particular religion, with the Seventh-Day Adventist and Mormon institutions accounting for 544 applicants. The majority of all applicants from feeder institutions attended schools in the Southwest. The majority of black and Hispanic feeder institutions were in Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico. Results suggest that factors such as school size, geographic location, religious affiliation, and admissions selectivity criteria of colleges and universities may have a direct impact on the dental applicant pool.