Blasius Jeffrey J, Pae Eung-Kwon
Department of Orthodontics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, USA.
Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2005 Sep;128(3):283-90; discussion 290-1. doi: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2004.09.019.
Traditionally, most orthodontists have been men. In recent years, however, the number of women in dentistry and dental specialties, including orthodontics, has increased dramatically. Because practice patterns of male and female orthodontists might differ, they should be evaluated so that our schools can produce enough providers for the future.
Questionnaires were mailed to 798 orthodontists; the response rate was 68.8%. Questions about practice behavior and productivity were designed to assess sex difference with respect to age, marital status, and number of children.
Number of children appeared to be a good predictor of days worked per week and length of leaves of absence for female orthodontists. Solo practitioners dominate the field of orthodontics, irrespective of age or sex. Although women were less likely than men to be practice owners, only 20% of the women responding were not in an ownership position. Women were slightly more likely to be involved in a group practice, they worked in fewer offices than men, and they employed fewer full-time and part-time people. Female nonowners were more likely to take longer leaves of absence. Overall, women worked slightly fewer days per week and spent fewer hours per week in direct patient care. Annually, they devoted 25 fewer days to practice than men, but, when adjusted for leaves of absence, men and women worked similar numbers of weeks in 1999.
Among orthodontists, work patterns of men and women differ somewhat, but these differences might not be as significant as other factors; more study is required.
传统上，大多数正畸医生为男性。然而近年来，包括正畸专业在内的牙科及牙科各专科领域的女性人数大幅增加。由于男性和女性正畸医生的执业模式可能存在差异，因此应对其进行评估，以便我们的院校能够为未来培养足够的从业者。
向798名正畸医生邮寄了调查问卷；回复率为68.8%。关于执业行为和工作效率的问题旨在评估年龄、婚姻状况和子女数量方面的性别差异。
子女数量似乎是预测女性正畸医生每周工作天数和休假时长的一个良好指标。无论年龄或性别，独立执业者在正畸领域占据主导地位。尽管女性成为执业所有者的可能性低于男性，但回复问卷的女性中只有20%没有所有者身份。女性参与合伙执业的可能性略高一些，她们工作的诊所数量比男性少，并且雇佣的全职和兼职人员也更少。非所有者身份的女性更有可能休更长时间的假。总体而言，女性每周工作天数略少，每周用于直接诊治患者的时间也更少。每年，她们比男性少工作25天，但在扣除休假时间后，1999年男性和女性的工作周数相近。
在正畸医生中，男性和女性的工作模式存在一定差异，但这些差异可能不如其他因素显著；还需要更多的研究。
