A woman at the chair is nothing out of the ordinary. Dental practice by female dentists in the Netherlands.
Women currently make up 40% of the dentist population in the Netherlands. On the basis of enrolment in educational programmes their share can be expected to grow to more than half. The literature shows gender differences in preferences regarding work setting and duration of the working week. Men and women also differ from each other with respect to the way dental care is provided. The presented data demonstrate an increase in the number of women working in dentistry and research data have confirmed the presumed differences between male and female dentists. Women are less likely to be the owner of a practice, women who do own a practice are more likely to collaborate with colleagues and have a shorter working week. With regard to providing dental care, women seem to be slightly more orientated to the individual patient and are more likely to pay attention to the patient’s general health. Theories about work values provide explanations for these gender differences. Women’s preference for collaboration accords with the general development in dental care to work in teams.