Career aspirations of dually trained dental therapy and dental hygiene students from one London dental institute

Dental therapists (DTs) and dental hygienists (DHs) are playing an increasingly important role in the UK dental workforce; however, little is known about students' expectations regarding their professional career, despite the importance of workforce retention within dentistry.The aim was to explore career expectations of dually trained dental therapy and dental hygiene students from one London dental institute.A mixed methods approach was used including a self-completion questionnaire and focus group discussions for students in their final year of training.Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using SPSS v.20 and qualitative data using framework methodology.A response of 82% (n = 56) was achieved for the questionnaire survey.Six focus groups were conducted (n = 30).Most students (95%; n = 53) reported being certain about their career plans, anticipating working in a mixed system (state/private care; 79%; n = 44) and providing primary dental care (73%; n = 41).In the longer-term, over two thirds (71%, n = 40) anticipated working full time with an average of eight sessions per week.Almost all (96%, n = 54) aspired to work in both dental hygiene and therapy with a ratio of three days hygiene: two days therapy per week.Long