Dentists' attitudes toward continuing dental education: nontopic factors of demand for courses.

This article reports the results of a survey of dentists' attitudes that influence their demand for continuing education. Unlike the bulk of previous studies, which identified course topics of interest to dentists, this survey investigated attributes of courses unrelated to content. The 1,472 respondents from seven western and mid-western states indicated their attitudes toward mandatory attendance, tuition charges, associated costs, length of course, cancellation policies, reputation of instructor, offerings for auxiliaries, and other attributes of continuing education programs. The findings suggest the need for changes in program management and for further research into factors unrelated to course content that influence demand for dental continuing education courses.