U.S. dental schools have fallen behind on efforts to attract and enroll Black students over the past 20 years, according to an article recently published in the Journal of Dental Education.
"Very little progress has been accomplished in growing the enrollment of [Black and African American] applicants to dental school in 20 years," the authors wrote. "As a profession, we also fail to grow interest among our graduates in careers that may support historically underrepresented and marginalized racial groups — public health, rural practice, population research, academic and health policy," the authors wrote in the April 7 article, adding that this may contribute to the oral health disparities Black Americans face.
The claim is based on the authors' analysis of data on the race of students admitted and enrolled into U.S. dental programs.
"True gains in recruitment and enrollment are limited," the authors said. While raw numbers alone showed an increase in the number of Black and African enrollees in dental schools between 2000 and 2019, the gains are disproportionate relative to all dental school enrollees, they explained.
The authors note that while Black and African American individuals make up 13.4 percent of the U.S. population, the percentage of Black and African American dental school enrollees in 2000 was 4.70, rising to 5.78 percent in 2019.
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