IADR Abstract Archives
How much does it cost to be a dentist in Thailand: A Case Study of Faculty of Dentistry Mahidol University
Objectives: To estimate overall expenses of a dental student in Mahidol University including tuition, living costs, additional study related expenditures and the opportunity cost for two addition years of study.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using questionnaires to all Mahidol dental students during the academic year 2015. 487 returned and were analysed using descriptive statistic.
Results: The students who live with their family spent an average 194,070 baht per year. The greater spending is personal expenses. Students who have to rent dorm or apartment, which is the main expense, spent 302,568 baht per year on average.
Conclusions: The expenses of a dental student per year is around 80% of the average yearly income of Thai families.This could imply that average Thai families cannot afford the cost of dental education even in public universities. Therefore few students from working class background enrolled in dental schools and established an under-represented health professional workforce. The suggested solutions are to make dental education personnel recognise this issue, provide cheap dormitory, limit unnecessary educational cost and increase full scholarship.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using questionnaires to all Mahidol dental students during the academic year 2015. 487 returned and were analysed using descriptive statistic.
Results: The students who live with their family spent an average 194,070 baht per year. The greater spending is personal expenses. Students who have to rent dorm or apartment, which is the main expense, spent 302,568 baht per year on average.
Conclusions: The expenses of a dental student per year is around 80% of the average yearly income of Thai families.This could imply that average Thai families cannot afford the cost of dental education even in public universities. Therefore few students from working class background enrolled in dental schools and established an under-represented health professional workforce. The suggested solutions are to make dental education personnel recognise this issue, provide cheap dormitory, limit unnecessary educational cost and increase full scholarship.