title: Orthodontic education programs: an international comparison of students' views and experiences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic characteristics of students completing certificate programs in orthodontics, and the curriculum and financial characteristics of orthodontic programs in the English-speaking world.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey was used to question orthodontic students studying in the 93 programs worldwide in countries where the first language is English. The questionnaire was built by using the online survey tool www.surveymonkey.com, and the students were predominantly contacted directly via e-mail.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 301 respondents (an estimated response rate of 33%), the majority were men, had an average age of 29.8 years, and were mostly from programs in the United States. The mean program durations were 31.0 months in the United States and 37.1 months in the Commonwealth, with mean total patient loads of 84 and 106, respectively. Various treatment modalities were used in both groups. The mean annual tuition fee was considerably higher in the United States. The overall mean debt at graduation was $118,200, and the mean expected income 5 years after graduation was $283,200. Private practice was the most popular career path (90.3%), with fewer than a third of the respondents stating that they would consider an academic career.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that the demographic characteristics of orthodontic students are similar to those most recently reported, with the proportion of female students continuing to increase. The numbers of transitional dentition patients and total patient case loads are increasing, and students are being exposed to an increasingly wide range of treatment techniques. A continuing increase in tuition fees was reported, along with increased levels of debt at graduation, and fewer students intend to have an academic career.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, Department of Oral Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ross J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Anning
authors.forename: W Murray
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Andrew N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Quick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D002321:Career Choice; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003479:Curriculum; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018961:Educational Technology; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D009970:Orthodontics / Q000193:education*; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012846:Singapore; D013019:South Africa; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014146:Training Support; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload