Hey, here is a really interesting article I found from 2006 on this topic:
http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/full/70/11_suppl/38
In the 1970s, women entering dental school made up approximately 2 percent of all students. But the climate began to change, and by the mid-1980s, 19.8 percent of entering dental students were women. Women entrants made up 38 percent of all students by 1990, and today essentially half of entering dental students are women. The dean at Baylor College of Dentistry recently reported that this years incoming class will have more women than men.
This article goes on to argue that although women are now well represented in the academic dental field, they are still largely unrepresented with regard to leadership positions. I think this is main reason why the old stereotype a woman who goes into the field is probably going into hygiene hasnt changed over the last few decades. Each year more and more female dentists graduate, but at the top, the profession is still largely dominated by men. I dont think this problem is exclusive to dentistry either, but to all fields that have traditionally been male dominated. I wonder how many pre-med women get asked when theyll be starting nursing school. Probably quite a few.
I believe that until the ratio of men to women is equal in all aspects of the dental field, this stereotype will continue to exist. I still think weve got a long way to go, but Im optimistic that the profession will change over the next few decades as women from our generation become established in their careers and have the opportunity to become leaders in the field. With a 50/50 male to female dental student ratio, there will probably be a lot more female leaders down the road.
As a woman, Ive run into this stereotype quite a few times. I dont think people are necessarily being sexist or rude when they say it, I think they just dont understand because many people still perceive dentistry to be a masculine profession. The best thing you can do when it happens is just to smile and explain to the person that women do, in fact, become dentists these days.
🙂
