Continuing the gender equality conversation
Featured Products Promotional FeaturesPosted by: Dental Design 22nd June 2021
Dental implantology is an exciting field of dentistry that offers a myriad of benefits for patients and practitioners alike. It is built on innovative clinical concepts, evidence-based products and cutting-edge technologies – most of which are constantly being refined and improved for ever-better treatment outcomes. Despite the opportunities available, there still seems to be fewer female practitioners operating within the field. Given the strive for equality among modern society and the rise in women dentists across the globe in recent decades, we consider what might be causing this skew.
Opportunities ready for the picking
Dental implants offer a gold-standard solution for missing teeth. There are options available today to patients of various different ages, backgrounds and budgets, providing the chance for a fixed, permanent solution to partial or complete edentulism.
A 2019 market projection[i] suggested that the European dental implant sector would grow by 6% by 2025. Though the pandemic may have slowed progress over the past year, anecdotally, the demand for this treatment modality has returned with a bang as practices have resumed more normal services. This demonstrates a massive opportunity for modern clinicians, who can not only deliver what their patients want but also capitalise on what continues to be a fast-growing field of dentistry. Many patients will really appreciate being able to see their normal dental team when seeking implants. Oral surgery can seem a little daunting, so seeing friendly faces throughout the process will help many individuals feel more comfortable and encourage even stronger patient-practitioner relationships. In addition, by providing dental implants in-house and reducing the need to refer out, dentists and their practices can enjoy the financial and business benefits as well. Given the difficulties of the past year, these will be very welcome for most!
Gender split
In 2018/19, there were more female dentists working within the NHS in England than male for the first time on record.[ii] Though the gap was small, it followed a steady and continuous rise in numbers of female NHS dentists from 2008/09. The growing appeal of dentistry among women is reflected in gender trends across all GDC registrants. In March 2020, the GDC reported[iii] 21,003 female dentists and 20,667 male dentists in the UK.
Given these figures, one might expect there to be a fairly even split of male and female practitioners across the specialities. However, this is not the case in some areas. Though there is no implant speciality, reports for specialists in oral surgery, for example, show 499 males to 237 females. Those currently working within the field would likely agree that there seems to be a similar story in implantology, with far fewer women in the field than men. So why is this?
Fewer females in implantology
Some of the gender gap may be explained by perceptions and challenges that traditionally would have impacted females interested in the field. Go back far enough and many healthcare professions were dominated by men due to the opportunities that were available to them and not to women due to centuries of structural and institutional gender inequality. As time went on, women may have had to choose between career and family, meaning that they focused on general dentistry instead of undertaking the extensive postgraduate training and the substantial investment implantology required.
More recently, there has also been a conversation regarding the gender pay gap in dentistry. Figures from the Office of National Statistics in 2019[iv] put dental practitioners at the top of the list for female-dominated jobs with the biggest gender pay gap, at just under 40%. Though this applies to all dentists, the idea that women could invest the same amount of time and money in furthering their skills and experience and still earn so much less than their male counterparts, may still be a factor in some women’s minds.
Promoting equality
Despite all of this, a greater awareness of the potential for inequality and more willingness to actively avoid it paints a positive picture for the future. Dentistry only became a female-dominated profession a few years ago, so it may be that the trend is reflected within implant dentistry in the years to come. Also, there is much more flexibility in dentistry today and societal expectations have evolved drastically in the last 50 years. As we move forward, it’s important that the focus is on ensuring equal opportunities and encouragement for all. If there are women in dentistry that are interested in dental implants, knowing how to get started is just as important for them as it is for men. Individuals should also have the confidence to get involved with implants, knowing that their principals, mentors and role models can support the unique challenges they face.
Getting the right start
For anyone looking to enter the world of dental implants, laying solid foundations with comprehensive training that covers all the basics is essential. The One to One Dental Education Implant Programme led by Dr Fazeela Khan-Osborne offers the perfect first step towards a long and successful career in implantology. It covers a broad range of surgical and restorative topics, offering theoretical and hands-on practical training. The programme is complemented by on-going mentoring, ensuring delegates have the support and encouragement they need to practise safely and confidently in practice.
To reserve your place or to find out more about the programme, please visit https://www.implantcourse.co.uk/our-courses/project-one-7kpfx
or call 020 7486 0000
Author bio:
Dr Fazeela Khan-Osborne is the founding clinician of the FACE dental implant multi-disciplinary team for the One To One Dental Clinic based on Harley Street, London. She has always had a passion and special interest in implant dentistry, particularly in surgical and restorative full arch rehabilitation of the maxilla. She has been involved in developing treatment modalities for peri-implantitis within clinical practice.
Dr Khan-Osborne is also the Founding Course Lead for the One To One Education Programme, now in its 20th year. As a former Lead Tutor on the Diploma in Implant Dentistry course at the Royal College of Surgeons (England), she lectures worldwide on implant dentistry and is an active full member of the Association of Dental Implantology, the British Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
[i] BusinessWire. Europe dental implant market estimated to grow with a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period, 2019-2025 – Researchandmarkets.com. November 2019. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191120005449/en/Europe-Dental-Implant-Market-Estimated-to-Grow-with-a-CAGR-of-6-During-the-Forecast-Period-2019-2025—ResearchAndMarkets.com [Accessed March 2021]
[ii] Statista. Annual number of NHS dentists in England from 2008-09 to 2019/20, by gender. October 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1045967/nhs-dentists-in-england-by-gender/#:~:text=In%202018%2F19%20there%20were,female%20dentists%20in%202019%2F20. [Accessed March 2021]
[iii] GDC. Registration report – March 2020. https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/registration-reports/registration-report—march-2020.pdf [Accessed March 2021]
[iv] Office for National Statistics. Gender pay gap in the UK: 2019. Difference in pay between women and men by age, region, full-time and part-time, and occupation. October 2019. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2019#the-gender-pay-gap [Accessed March 2021]
