@article{3d3e8442a8d44464b381a42881f60583,
title = "Oral Sciences PhD Program Enrollment, Graduates, and Placement: 1994 to 2016",
abstract = "For decades, dental schools in the United States have endured a significant faculty shortage. Studies have determined that the top 2 sources of dental faculty are advanced education programs and private practice. Those who have completed both DDS and PhD training are considered prime candidates for dental faculty positions. However, there is no national database to track those trainees and no evidence to indicate that they entered academia upon graduation. The objective of this study was to assess outcomes of dental school–affiliated oral sciences PhD program enrollment, graduates, and placement between 1994 and 2016. Using the American Dental Association annual survey of advanced dental education programs not accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and data obtained from 22 oral sciences PhD programs, we assessed student demographics, enrollment, graduation, and placement. Based on the data provided by program directors, the average new enrollment was 33, and graduation was 26 per year. A total of 605 graduated; 39 did not complete; and 168 were still in training. Among those 605 graduates, 211 were faculty in U.S. academic institutions, and 77 were faculty in foreign institutions. Given that vacant budgeted full-time faculty positions averaged 257 per year during this period, graduates from those oral sciences PhD programs who entered academia in the United States would have filled 9 (3.6%) vacant faculty positions per year. Therefore, PhD programs have consistently generated only a small pipeline of dental school faculty. Better mentoring to retain talent in academia is necessary. Stronger support and creative funding plans are essential to sustain the PhD program. Furthermore, the oral sciences PhD program database should be established and maintained by dental professional organizations to allow assessments of training models, trends of enrollment, graduation, and placement outcomes.",
keywords = "academic, demographics, dental schools, education, outcomes, survey",
author = "Herzog, {C. R.} and Berzins, {D. W.} and P. DenBesten and Gregory, {R. L.} and Hargreaves, {K. M.} and Messer, {R. L.W.} and M. Mina and Mooney, {M. P.} and Paine, {M. L.} and C. Phillips and Presland, {R. B.} and Quivey, {R. G.} and Scannapieco, {F. A.} and Sheridan, {J. F.} and Svoboda, {K. K.H.} and Trackman, {P. C.} and Walker, {M. P.} and Walker, {S. G.} and Wang, {C. Y.} and Hu, {J. C.C.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Matthew C. Mikkelsen, manager of education surveys at the ADA Health Policy Institute, for his assistance in obtaining selected ADA survey documents and Emily Springfield, instructional learning expert at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, for her advice in survey construction. The Office of Research at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry provided support for carrying out the program director survey study. Specifically, we thank Kimberly Smith, who helped with the survey design, distribution, organization of the completed surveys, and generation of graphs, and Pat Schultz and Manette London, who helped with survey design and proofreading. We acknowledge colleagues who contributed program-specific data: Dr. Robert A. Burne, associate dean for research, distinguished professor and chair, Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, University of Florida; Dr. Douglas S. Darling, professor emeritus at the School of Dentistry, University of Louisville; Dr. Keith L. Kirkwood, professor, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo; Dr. Sheila E. Stover, director, Rural Outreach Programs and Grad Program in Endodontics, Dental Surgical Sciences, School of Dentistry, Marquette University. We thank the following individuals, who provided assistance in data collection: Muneeza Irfani, training grants coordinator, University of California, Los Angeles; Roger Mraz, program administrator, University of California, San Francisco; Karina Kearney, program coordinator, University of Missouri, Kansas City; Cathy Drdul, program coordinator, State University of New York, Buffalo; Nicole Beaumont, administrator, Center for Oral Biology, University of Rochester; Meagan Solloway, administrative assistant, University of North Carolina; Christine Bitzel, administrative assistant, The Ohio State University; Lynn M. Marendo, administrative assistant, University of Pittsburgh; Temo Garcia, Office of External Affairs, School of Dentistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; Denise Dorman, College of Dentistry, University of Florida. This study was supported by the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018, {\textcopyright} International & American Associations for Dental Research 2018.",
year = "2018",
month = may,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1177/0022034517749506",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "97",
pages = "483--491",
journal = "Journal of Dental Research",
issn = "0022-0345",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "5",
}