Abstract

Background: Each year, many students qualify as dental surgeons according to PMDC (Pakistan Medical and Dental Council) standards. At present the field of dentistry is confronting huge difficulties in Karachi because of the rising number of unsatisfied dental alumni predominantly in light of low prospects of work and post-graduation.

The aim of conducting this research is to highlight some dental issues that need attention namely the increase in the rate of unemployment of dental graduates, limited number of courses, fields, and seats for Post-Graduation.

Methods and Materials: A cross sectional survey was carried out from dental graduates using non-probability convenient sampling technique, working at different government and private dental institutes/hospitals, clinics or who were unemployed. This study was conducted from July 2018 to October 2018.

Results: In this survey 86.5% female and 13.5% male dentists participated. It was found that 73.5% dentists trail their field of dentistry by working at different positions, at the same time around 70% of dentists have worked on unpaid/honorary positions after graduation. This survey shows that 74.1% of the graduates are willing to go for PostGraduation in future.

Conclusion: Dentistry is a vital service industry. It needs more focus on improvement of job opportunities for the present and upcoming dentists. There is a prerequisite to introduce a number of new fields in dentistry that are being practiced all around the world. This would not only benefit the industry but is also important for the healthier community in longer run.

Keywords: Dental graduates; Employments; Challenges; Postgraduate courses; FCPS; MDS