Aim: To examine the perceptions and overall satisfaction about the dental profession amongst the final-year student cohorts from the Lithuanian and Polish universities.
Material and methods: For the Lithuanian cohort, the response rate was 95% (N = 143) and for the Polish cohort it was 99% (N = 123). The survey included a pre-tested questionnaire with multiple questions from three domains: (a) Sociodemographic, (b) Influences of others and (c) Dentistry Profession.
Results: Polish university students were older (25.3 ± 2.6 years) than Lithuanian students (23.5 ± 1.6 years), more Lithuanian (83.1%) students were single compared to Polish cohort (34.7%), and more students graduating in Poland (43.4%) were males compared to the Lithuanian students (26.6%). In both countries, students were mostly influenced towards their choice of dentistry by their parents/relatives and positive experiences. Similar profession-related dimensions were identified for student from both countries: (a) the prestige of the profession, (b) job-related security, and (c) self-realisation. Satisfaction with a profession differed substantially between the two student cohorts, but none of the sociodemographic predictors explained this variation satisfactorily.
Conclusions: Sociodemographic differences were found between the students from Lithuanian and Polish universities. Yet, both student cohorts were similarly influenced towards choosing dentistry. The profession's prestige, job security and self-realisation were the most important profession-related dimensions. Polish university students were more satisfied with the profession than Lithuanian students.
Keywords: dental students; dentistry; medical profession; perceptions.
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