Perfil sociodemográfico e perspectivas em relação à profissão do estudante de odontologia

Introduction: Considering the changes that are occurring in the dental labor market, it is important to identify the expectations of students about their education and future profession. Proposition: Knowing the profile of the students Dentistry School of Lins as well as socio-demographic aspects and perspectives involving the profession. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a random sample of 203 students from this institution, who, after having signed a consent form , answered a pre-coded , individual and confidential questionnaire , with questions directed towards the socio-demographic characteristics , the features of the chosen course , and the expectations regarding the professional practice and their tendency towards a post-graduate course . Results: The majority of the sample consisted of women ( 66.9%), with a mean age of 23.4 years old and single ( 86.7%), with no paid job ( 57.9%); a minority ( 36.2%) read newspapers and 57.0 % read books . Only 28.5 % of the subjects mastered the English language and 51.2 % came from public schools ; 31.8 % got to know the course through friends ; 43.4 % were motivated by their interest and affinity with the area of health ; 98.2 % are satisfied with the course ; 75.4 % never thought about quitting, and 53.4 % of them are sure to get a job . The majority ( 78.4%) is satisfied with the School’s conditions and 41.1 % attributed it to the quality of the team of teachers . When asked about the disciplines in which they considered themselves better prepared , Surgery , Dentistry , Stomatology, and Anesthesiology were mentioned. Subjects mentioned being more stressed about Histology , Endodontics , Radiology, and Anatomy; a significant part of them reports feeling stress in applied disciplines . For 52.4 % of the participants , dental insurance plans devalue self-employed professionals and 60.4 % expect to receive an income higher than 3,000 reais when beginning their professional activities ; 34.2 % associate Dentistry to professional fulfillment ; 97.4 % plan to do a specialization course , preferably in orthodontics and implants , and 59.8 % would like to work abroad . Conclusion : The results allowed the researchers to identify the profile of the students of the Dentistry School of Lins and their perspectives on dentistry, which can help in the Institution’s teaching- learning process, in the field of study, and in the analysis of the profession’s growth .