Gender Inequity in Dental Hygiene Programs - A National Student Survey

Objectives: In 2016, the United States Department of Labor reported that only 2.9% of dental hygienists in the U.S. were men and that less than 3% of male students were enrolled in dental hygiene programs in the U.S. Gaining a better understanding of dental and dental hygiene students’ thoughts related to this imbalance can provide a basis for considering ways to change this situation. The objectives were to explore how (a) dental and dental hygiene students and (b) male vs. female dental hygiene students perceive this gender imbalance.
Methods: Data were collected from 668 dental hygiene students in the U.S. and from 237 dental students at the University of Michigan - School of Dentistry.
Results: Independent sample t-tests showed that dental students agreed more that male dental hygiene students would be perceived more negatively (5-point scale with 1 = “disagree strongly”: 2.56 vs. 2.28; p<0.001), would encounter more difficulties in general (2.79 vs. 2.45; p<0.001) and more difficulties with finding a job (2.56 vs. 2.28; p<0.001) than dental hygiene students. Male dental hygiene students agreed more that they would be perceived more negatively (2.60 vs. 2.25; p=0.03), would encounter more difficulties in general (2.60 vs. 2.25; p=0.03) and more difficulties with finding a job (2.93 vs. 2.40; p<0.001) than female dental hygiene students.
Conclusions: Future dentists considered male dental hygienists to be perceived negatively by female dental hygienists, patients and dentists. Male dental hygiene students had less positive expectations concerning their role than female dental hygiene students. Being a solo person in dental hygiene programs might have resulted in experiences that shaped these students’ expectations for the future.