title: Personality profile of students entering dentistry, hygiene/therapy and dental nursing at one London dental institute.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  King's College London Dental Institute (KCLDI) is the largest school in the UK, training dental professionals: Dentists, Hygienists/Therapists and Dental Nurses. Although previous work has examined dental students, there is a dearth of studies on the personality profile of students of hygiene/therapy and dental nursing.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the personality profile of students studying dentistry, hygiene/therapy and dental nursing at KCLDI, by programme, sex and ethnicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  All entrants into dentistry, hygiene/therapy and dental nursing at KCLDI were invited to participate in the study. A self report questionnaire including the brief version of the Five-Factor Model and personal details was administered to the 218 recruited students in groups and under supervised conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-way ANOVA on data from 148 questionnaires revealed significant differences; the medical graduate entrants to dentistry appeared to have a more extraverted profile than hygiene/therapy entrants (P<0.04). The graduate entrants to dentistry were more open to experiences than the direct entrants (P<0.03) and the dental nursing trainees (P<0.03). The medical graduate entrants also appeared more open to experiences than the dental nursing trainees; the latter also appeared to have a more sensitive profile compared to the medical entry students (P<0.03). No differences were found between groups in agreeableness and conscientiousness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest the presence of personality differences between entrants to dentistry, hygiene/therapy and dental nursing. The implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: King's College London Dental Institute, Department of Oral Health Services Research & Dental Public Health, London. athina.belsi@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belsi
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asimakopoulou
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003726:Dental Assistants / Q000193:education*; D003727:Dental Auxiliaries / Q000193:education*; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000193:education*; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D004645:Empathy; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010551:Personality; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult