Meet Bashayier Ahmed, a dentist with overseas qualifications
23rd April 2024
Working abroad to experience life in a different country is an attractive prospect to many professionals, including dentists. For dentists… read more
Balance for Better – celebrating women in dentistry.
8th March 2019 | Posted by: Vanessa GiraudThe theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is #Balanceforbetter. So today is a good day to look at the important role women play in dentistry.
Balance for better
In the past, most dentists were men. Indeed, if we look at the percentage of male to female dentists over 55, it’s still predominantly male. But with an increasing number of women training in dentistry the balance is changing. In 2017, 63% of the total number of dental graduates in the UK were women.
How is the role of women in dentistry changing?
Dentistry has come a long way over the last century. Treatments are now so much more sophisticated, with the emphasis on care and aesthetics, rather than pain management and tooth pulling. And there is a change in the role of women too.
A quick look at SpaDental’s team pages shows that women fill many roles. We have women in practice administration, nursing, hygiene and therapy, and a good balance of women dentists. Women are behind the scenes too, working in finance, compliance and management.
Between 2007 and 2015, the number of women registered as dentists increased by 44.2%. If we look at the range of dentists over 55, about 75% of them are male. The percentage of women dentists is higher in the younger age brackets as an increasing number of women become oral surgeons.
Dentistry is one of the work environments where the changing role of women is visible. Dental businesses are responding to the work requirements of women too, with flexible working hours and opening times.
How can we help balance for better?
Education about gender balance makes a difference. Around young people it’s important to challenge stereo-types.
Professor Julia Higgins of the Institute of Physics writes: “It is astonishing that, in 2018, girls still grow up being treated very differently from boys through entrenched stereotyping and unconscious biases…. We all have a role to play – government, educators, industry, parents and citizens – in tackling the barriers that girls face.”
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