Dental News - More female dentists in Australia

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 15. January 2014

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CANBERRA, Australia: According to a report released this week by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the number of dentists in Australia has increased, as well as the number of women working in the field in particular. Today, more than a third of dentists registered in the country are female.

The report showed that overall 19,462 dental practitioners were registered in Australia in 2012, of whom 14,687 (75.5 per cent) were dentists. The report also showed that 1,600 (8.3 per cent) worked as dental hygienists, 1,276 (6.6 per cent) as dental therapists, 1,161 (6 per cent) as dental prosthetists and 738 (3.8 per cent) as oral health therapists.

“While dentistry is traditionally a male-dominated profession, the proportion of female dentists rose from about 35 per cent to almost 37 per cent between 2011 and 2012,” said AIHW spokesperson Dr Adrian Webster.

With regard to age distribution, there were more men than women across all age groups except in the youngest (20–34 years), with the most men in the 45–54 age group (1,874), followed by the 55–64 age group (1,844).

According to the report, 97 per cent of employed dental therapists, 95 per cent of employed dental hygienists and 85 per cent of employed oral therapists in 2012 were female, while dental prosthetists were much more likely to be male, with women making up only 15 per cent of this group.

The report, titled “Dental workforce 2012”, was published online on 15 January on the AIHW’s website.

One thought on “More female dentists in Australia”

Madeleine Calcutt says:

June 3, 2020 at 12:19 pm

Why are there so many Asian female dentists in Australia?

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