THE REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PROFESSION OF DENTIST AMONG THE STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF DENTAL MEDICINE - IASI, ROMANIA

The profession of dentist, as any other medical profession, is a challenging one. Aim: To determine the reasons and factors that are influencing the choice of Dental Medicine as profession among the students of the Faculty of Dental Medicine from "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi, Romania. Materials and methods: The data were collected through redesigned questionnaire containing 33 questions. Career aspirations questionnaire were distributed among dental students of the 2nd year and 3rd year, Faculty of Dental Medicine Iasi. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 software. For the age variable, were determined the average, median, and standard deviation. The Pearson chi-square correlation test was used in order to evaluate the correlations of the results. The confidentiality threshold was set at 5%. Results: Most of the participants consider that dental careers offer a stable job (82.5%), this profession is better paid (80%) and offers a better status (85%). Rural subjects are more insecure as regards their future career in dentistry than those from the urban areas (35.7%). Male subjects are more uncertain about their future in the field of dental medicine in comparison with female. The influence of the environment, especially of the entourage, represented an important factor in choosing a profession, along with the family (the parents). Conclusions: The reasons for choosing the profession of dentist differ from one person to another and are influenced by the educational background, socio-economic status and cultural history.