Perception about career opportunities in public health dentistry among post graduate students in Bangalore city: A cross-sectional survey

Aims: To assess the perception about career opportunities in public health dentistry among post graduate students. Settings and Design: A cross sectional survey was carried out in the Department of public health dentistry among the post graduate students in the Dental Institutions in Bangalore city. Methods and Material: The survey was carried out using self-structured, pre-tested, close-ended questionnaire administered to 79Post Graduate students which included written consent to participate in the study, demographic details & questions pertaining to perception about career opportunities which were 12 in number. Statistical analysis used: Chi-Square test was done for categorical variables using SPSS version 22. Results: In the present study, majority of the Post Graduate Students perceived that they have a role in clinical procedure, health education at clinical level, to train other health professionals, regarding oral health, to provide oral health information at media level, planning & evaluation of public health programs and role of Public Health Dentist at school whereas, only a few were unaware that they have a role to play in teledentistry, fiscal measures, advocacy and lobbying. Conclusions: The specialty needs to be projected well among post graduate students to increase their interest in the discipline as an attractive and viable career option.