Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2016 Graduating Class
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional survey of graduating seniors (non-clinical educational scholarship, graded by design analogy).
OpenAlex W2607359597 · doi:10.21815/jde.016.027
What was done
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) administered its annual cross-sectional survey to graduating dental students in 2016 across all 59 accredited U.S. dental schools with graduating classes. The survey evaluated motivations for entering dentistry, educational experiences, cumulative debt burden, and post-graduation career plans.
What was found
Data were gathered from 4,558 graduating seniors. The average graduating student had over $200,000 in student debt, though inflation-adjusted debt decreased slightly for the first time in two decades due to private school students reducing average debt by $23,401. Immediately after graduation, 50.5% planned to enter private practice and 33.8% planned to enter advanced dental education. Approximately half of respondents reported plans to work in underserved areas at some point in their careers.
Why it matters
This nationwide annual survey provides benchmark data on educational debt trends, practice intentions, and career trajectories shaping the emerging U.S. dental workforce.
Limits
Findings rely on self-reported survey responses subject to recall and social desirability biases, particularly regarding future intentions to serve underserved populations. The abstract does not report the overall response rate across the 59 schools or measures of variance for the reported debt averages. Actual career outcomes were not tracked longitudinally.
Cited by
- contradicts Graduating dental students typically carry approximately $500,000 in student loan debt.