Bulletin of Dental Education Article

ADEA recently released an Excel-based national report drawn from the inaugural 2024 Allied Dental Graduating Student Survey. The Excel-based national report is now available on the ADEA Data, Analysis and Research webpage and can also be accessed directly here.

The report provides a series of tables summarizing the survey data that examined the journey of graduating students. The survey explored a variety of topics, including the motivations and influences driving students to pursue an allied dental career, their perceptions of their educational experience and their post-graduation plans and career investments. The inaugural survey, conducted from March 26 to June 21, 2024, gathered responses from 2,707 graduating students across 570 accredited U.S. programs in dental hygiene, dental assisting and dental laboratory technology, achieving a 21% response rate.

Some key findings from the survey include:

• Influences on career choice: Personal dental experiences were the leading factor influencing students’ decision to pursue an allied dental career, cited by 41% of respondents. The influence of family, relatives and friends was also significant, with about three out of 10 graduating students citing it as being the most important factor in their decision.
• Preparedness for practice: Allied dental students expressed high confidence in their readiness to practice. Approximately 90% agreed or strongly agreed that they were equipped with essential skills, including clinical decision-making and communication.
• Education debt: Three-fourths of graduating students entered their programs without prior education debt, and more than half graduated debt-free. Among those with education debt after finishing their allied dental education, more than 80% owed less than $50,000.
• Post-graduation plans: Private practice, including dental service organizations (DSOs), was the most popular work environment for allied dental students planning on working immediately after graduation, accounting for more than eight out of 10 graduating students. Dental assisting graduating students were significantly more likely to pursue further education, with 35% indicating plans to continue their studies, compared to 6% of the dental hygiene graduating students and 16% of the dental laboratory technology graduating students.
• Educational experiences: Interprofessional and intraprofessional education experiences were widely valued, with about nine out of 10 graduating students reporting these interactions enhanced their understanding of collaborative care.

Individualized results are also available for accredited U.S. programs with 10 or more respondents, offering tailored insights to support program-specific improvements. A deeper analysis of the survey findings will be published in the March 2025 issue of the Journal of Dental Education.

For inquiries, please contact the ADEA research team at adeadata@adea.org. Questions regarding the data may be directed to Pradeep Singh, Ph.D., Senior Research Analyst, ADEA Office of Educational Services, at singhp@adea.org.