Attitude of Female Undergraduate Dental Students Regarding Their Future Study: Study from an South Indian Dental College

Introduction: Dentistry is one of the most prestigious professions in India. Among the total dental undergraduate students a very high proportion is female. The present study was conducted to find out the attitude of female dental students regarding their further study and to find out different factors affecting the decision to do post-graduation and subject of choice. Methodology: The study was carried out in a dental college in South India among the undergraduate female dental students from first year to final year. Data were collected using a pre-designed, pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Collected data was compiled, tabulated and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: 25% students did not want to do post-graduation and wanted to work as general dentist. Wish to be general dentist was significantly higher among students of higher age group and students of final year. Oral and maxillofacial surgery was the most favorite discipline to do post-graduation for students of all years except final year. No student wanted to work as oral pathologist, oral anatomist, public health dentist or period on to logist. Majority of the students liked to study dentistry. However, proportion of students who did not like to study dentistry was significantly higher among third year students. Conclusion: Attitude of students regarding future career varied widely according to age of the students and year of study. Practice of early age of marriage among female as compared to male may be a reason of change of their attitude regarding future study. Huge stress involved in studying dentistry can be another reason for this