Trends in generalist and specialty advanced dental education and practice, 2005-06 to 2015-16 and beyond

This article reviews the data on advanced dental education for the past decade and explores what advanced dental education might look like in the years leading up to 2040, including how its graduates will address the oral health needs of the population. The authors based these projections on published data about advanced dental education collected by the American Dental Association and other organizations. Nevertheless, a certain degree of speculation was involved. The article presents current data and trends in advanced dental education, environmental factors impacting advanced dental education, and lessons drawn from other areas of health care that support the potential scenarios that are described. This article was written as part of the project “Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century.”