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jha 2025, 28(2): 22-37 |
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Mosavi S, Moeeni S, Moeeni M, Davoodi S M R. Economic analysis of students' preferences for specialty choice: a case study on dentistry. jha 2025; 28 (2) :22-37
URL: http://jha.iums.ac.ir/article-1-4552-en.html
URL: http://jha.iums.ac.ir/article-1-4552-en.html
1- Department of Economics, Dehaghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan, Iran.
2- Department of Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. ,sh.moeeni@ase.ui.ac.ir
3- Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
4- Department of Management, Dehaghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan, Iran.
2- Department of Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. ,
3- Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
4- Department of Management, Dehaghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan, Iran.
Keywords: economic valuation, stated preferences, job choice, discrete choice modeling, dental specialties, general dentistry
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The population for the study included general dentistry students from the Faculty of Dentistry at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Khorasgan Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran in the fall of 2021. Students who participated in the validation stage of the tools, those who declared no intention to continue studying in dental specialties, and students who did not provide consent were excluded from the study. Informed consent was obtained from all respondents for the main study. Questionnaires were completed both online and in person, with a total of 301 responses (122 face-to-face and 190 online). Data were analyzed using econometric methods related to conditional logit and mixed logit models. At first, data of all participants were used for regression analysis. Then, preferences for specialty choice were compared across gender and academic year, separately. Stata version 14 was used to fit econometric models.
Results
The descriptive statistics for the 301 participants are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Descriptive statistics of variables
Table 3. The results of the components related to the choice of specialty of dental students
*Reference groups
Table 4. Conditional logit model for components of specialty selection for male and female students
*Reference groups
Table 5. Conditional logit model for the components of specialty selection based on academic years
*Reference groups
Discussion
The results of this study showed the students preferred clinical specialties. The most chosen fields were orthodontics, oral, maxillofacial surgery, restorative dentistry, endodontics and prosthetics. On the other hand, fields such as dental materials, community-oriented dentistry, pathology, and oral and maxillofacial diseases were the least preferred. Oral and maxillofacial surgery has a longer residency period than other specialties and involves night shifts and on-call duties, making it physically difficult. These factors may explain why female students are less interested in this field compared to male students. Orthodontics is also a specialty with relatively high physical depreciation, but its residency period is shorter than oral and maxillofacial surgery, and it has a relatively high income and prestige. Hatipoglu [9] and Puryer [10] showed that orthodontics is particularly popular among female students due to the younger age range of patients. Puryer [10] confirmed that orthodontics, followed by restorative specialties, provide high income and financial well-being for dentists, making them attractive for students. Regression analysis showed both financial factors, including expected income and tuition fees during the residency period, and non-financial factors such as individual interest, length and difficulty of the residency period, physical wear and tear, and job stress, influenced specialty choice.
Most students, regardless of gender and year of study, preferred to specialties with higher income and prestige. Achieving a well-paying job and a high social status makes the young people choose certain specialties. Kanmodi et al. [11] found that male students at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria considered prestige as an influential factor in choosing a specialty. In a study by Alnomay et al. [12] on 600 dental students and graduates from various universities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, financial security was also significant. Hatipoglu [9] studied 436 fourth- and fifth-year dental students in Turkey and showed that income and prestige were the main factors for choosing a specialty. However, this factor was not significant for dental students in some high-income countries such as the UK, Denmark, Australia and Canada [13-16]. Culture differences and per capita income may explain the different preferences of students in high- and middle-income countries [9].
Tuition fees were a significant consideration for students of all academic years and genders. Students preferred studying in universities without tuition fees. Shin et al. [17] in a study found that academic debt played an important role among dental students at Harvard University to choose a dental specialty. They concluded that the increased interest in certain fields between the two periods of study (2008 and 2013) may be due to the high debt burden that students face upon graduation. This suggests that dental education policymakers can help students make career decisions based on personal interest rather than financial burden, leading to more satisfactory long-term outcomes.
In the present study, personal interest was an effective factor in selecting a specialty for both genders and for junior and senior students. Purrier et al. [10] Shakurnia and Nejadi [18] and also reported similar results among final year dental students in England, and dental residents in Ahvaz, Iran, respectively. The long residency period was not significant for men but was significant for women and for students across academic years. Hashmipour [19] also found the importance of a shorter education period for choosing a specialty among dental students in Iran. Purrier [10] reported the residency duration as the most important factor with a negative impact. The perceived ease of residency was also important for all students. This finding is consistent with the study by Shakurnia and Nejadi [18] and Hatipqlou [9].
Limitation
This study had some limitations, the most significant of which was the COVID-19 situation and the limited access to students. Due to the reduced physical presence of students in academic settings, the questionnaires were distributed online.
Conclusion
This study indicated that comfort and low job stress were significant factors influencing choice of specialty, consistent with other studies [20]. The findings suggest that students preferred clinical fields rather than preventive services. Patients pay for treatments with immediate benefits. Therefore, students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each specialty and choose fields that are more beneficial. That is why students prefer medical specialties. Additionally, dentistry is inherently clinical, so students generally pursue specialties with a clinical nature, unless their interests lie in health management, prevention or health promotion. Some fields, such as community-oriented dentistry and dental materials, require longer training periods and harder work than clinical specialties. They also offer lower income and social prestige than other specialties. Acceptance in some fields such as the diagnosis of oral, maxillofacial diseases and oral and maxillofacial pathology has decreased in recent years due to lower income, longer residency period, and lower tariff in clinical work. Therefore, individuals who enter these fields are those interested in research work and academic careers.
Online supplement
Questionnaires
Declarations
Ethical considerations: This manuscript obtained ethical code IR.IAU.DEHAGHAN.REC.1399.008
from the Ethics Committee at the Azad University of Dehaghan.
Funding: None
Conflicts of interests: None
Authors’ contribution: Sh.M: Study design, data curation, validation, data analysis, writing– original draft, final approval; Sh.M: Conceptualization, study design, methodology, data analysis, supervision, project administration, writing– review & editing, final approval; M.M: Methodology, software, validation, data analysis, writing– review & editing, final approval; SMR.D: Data curation, writing– review & editing, final approval. All authors have read and approved the final text of the article.
Consent for publication: This study has no consent for publication.
Data availability: The data used in this study will be made available upon request, if needed.
AI deceleration: None
Acknowledgements: I need to express my sincere gratitude to the professors, administrators and staff of Dehaghan Azad University. Also, the questionnaire of this article was distributed in the Faculty of Dentistry of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, so I am grateful for the cooperation of the dear managers and personnel of this faculty. Also, I sincerely appreciate the participants in this research. is a part of a Ph.D thesis approved by Islamic Azad University in 2020 with code 1834812880442671398171190.
References
Full-Text: (111 Views)
Introduction
Today, in developing countries, one of the most fundamental challenges for implementing health policies and changes in health systems is the shortage of human resources to provide healthcare services [1]. The global shortage of health workforce, migration, asymmetric distribution, low skill level and inappropriate work environment are among the most important problems in managing health human resources [2]. The lack of health workers, aside from its economic and social effects, directly affects access to healthcare services and decreases their quality. The large number of health manpower can also be examined from the perspective of health economics, because not only should the cost spent on the education and training of health workers be taken into account, but their opportunity cost is much more important. According to economic theories, when a doctor is considered as a production factor and other resources used to produce healthcare are assumed fixed, the variable production factor can be increased only up to a limit, beyond which return diminish and losses occur. Even when considering all production factors, optimal use of human production factors is still necessary to ensure economic efficiency [3].
Proper planning and distribution of specialized healthcare manpower are crucial to achieve fair and desirable health care [4,5]. Skillful and expert human capital for providing preventive and therapeutic dental services is one of the key factors for improvement of oral and dental health [6]. Therefore, the optimal allocation of dentists across specialties has always been a concern for health policymakers in both high- and low-income countries [7]. Studies in different societies show that general dentists prefer certain dental specialties. For example, in Iran in recent decades, financial and non-financial factors have driven dental students towards specialization, particularly in therapeutic fields such as oral surgery and orthodontics [8]. Therefore, the present study analyzed the factors influencing the choice of dental specialty.
Methods
This cross-sectional survey applied discrete choice experiment (DCE) modeling to measure the stated preferences of general dentistry students when choosing dental specialty fields. The questionnaire was prepared according to guidelines for discrete choice studies, which are based on experimental design. An important step for developing a DCE questionnaire is the design of choice sets to present to participants. Therefore, in the first step, components related to students' preferences for choosing a dental specialty were extracted from previous studies, and five targeted qualitative interviews with professors specializing in dentistry at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Then, four qualitative interviews with dental residency students at the same university were conducted to identify the most relevant components. At this step, six main selection components and their levels were determined (Table 1).
In the second step, the optimal number of choice sets was determined based on the experimental design and the D-Efficiency criterion. Each choice set included two alternatives, with no opt-out option. Therefore, participants had to choose one of the two alternatives of each choice set. The choice sets were generic, meaning they were not labeled with a specific dental specialty to allow respondents to focus on the components rather than the specialty names. To prevent low responses due to the large number of choice sets, the sets were blocked into two groups of eight, resulting to two versions of the questionnaire, each containing eight choice sets. Then, the preliminary questionnaire was developed by adding demographic questions.
In the third step, the questionnaire was validated. First, it was qualitatively evaluated by five dentistry professors, and modified based on their opinions. Then, a pilot test with fourteen general dentistry students and dental residents at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences assessed validity, and the questionnaire was finally revised accordingly. The final questionnaire was prepared in both paper and online formats.
Table 1. Questionnaire components and their level
Today, in developing countries, one of the most fundamental challenges for implementing health policies and changes in health systems is the shortage of human resources to provide healthcare services [1]. The global shortage of health workforce, migration, asymmetric distribution, low skill level and inappropriate work environment are among the most important problems in managing health human resources [2]. The lack of health workers, aside from its economic and social effects, directly affects access to healthcare services and decreases their quality. The large number of health manpower can also be examined from the perspective of health economics, because not only should the cost spent on the education and training of health workers be taken into account, but their opportunity cost is much more important. According to economic theories, when a doctor is considered as a production factor and other resources used to produce healthcare are assumed fixed, the variable production factor can be increased only up to a limit, beyond which return diminish and losses occur. Even when considering all production factors, optimal use of human production factors is still necessary to ensure economic efficiency [3].
Proper planning and distribution of specialized healthcare manpower are crucial to achieve fair and desirable health care [4,5]. Skillful and expert human capital for providing preventive and therapeutic dental services is one of the key factors for improvement of oral and dental health [6]. Therefore, the optimal allocation of dentists across specialties has always been a concern for health policymakers in both high- and low-income countries [7]. Studies in different societies show that general dentists prefer certain dental specialties. For example, in Iran in recent decades, financial and non-financial factors have driven dental students towards specialization, particularly in therapeutic fields such as oral surgery and orthodontics [8]. Therefore, the present study analyzed the factors influencing the choice of dental specialty.
Methods
This cross-sectional survey applied discrete choice experiment (DCE) modeling to measure the stated preferences of general dentistry students when choosing dental specialty fields. The questionnaire was prepared according to guidelines for discrete choice studies, which are based on experimental design. An important step for developing a DCE questionnaire is the design of choice sets to present to participants. Therefore, in the first step, components related to students' preferences for choosing a dental specialty were extracted from previous studies, and five targeted qualitative interviews with professors specializing in dentistry at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Then, four qualitative interviews with dental residency students at the same university were conducted to identify the most relevant components. At this step, six main selection components and their levels were determined (Table 1).
In the second step, the optimal number of choice sets was determined based on the experimental design and the D-Efficiency criterion. Each choice set included two alternatives, with no opt-out option. Therefore, participants had to choose one of the two alternatives of each choice set. The choice sets were generic, meaning they were not labeled with a specific dental specialty to allow respondents to focus on the components rather than the specialty names. To prevent low responses due to the large number of choice sets, the sets were blocked into two groups of eight, resulting to two versions of the questionnaire, each containing eight choice sets. Then, the preliminary questionnaire was developed by adding demographic questions.
In the third step, the questionnaire was validated. First, it was qualitatively evaluated by five dentistry professors, and modified based on their opinions. Then, a pilot test with fourteen general dentistry students and dental residents at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences assessed validity, and the questionnaire was finally revised accordingly. The final questionnaire was prepared in both paper and online formats.
Table 1. Questionnaire components and their level
| Level | Component |
| Not good; Good |
Income and prestige |
| Tuition; Free |
Tuition fee |
| High; Medium; Low |
Physical wear and stress |
| Not hard; Hard |
The difficulty of residency period |
| Medium length; Prolonged |
Length of residency |
| No; Yes |
| The interest in the specialized field |
The population for the study included general dentistry students from the Faculty of Dentistry at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Khorasgan Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran in the fall of 2021. Students who participated in the validation stage of the tools, those who declared no intention to continue studying in dental specialties, and students who did not provide consent were excluded from the study. Informed consent was obtained from all respondents for the main study. Questionnaires were completed both online and in person, with a total of 301 responses (122 face-to-face and 190 online). Data were analyzed using econometric methods related to conditional logit and mixed logit models. At first, data of all participants were used for regression analysis. Then, preferences for specialty choice were compared across gender and academic year, separately. Stata version 14 was used to fit econometric models.
Results
The descriptive statistics for the 301 participants are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Descriptive statistics of variables
| Percentage | Number | Variables |
| 43.58 | 132 | Man | Gender |
| 56.41 | 169 | Woman | |
| 67.77 | 204 | State University | University |
| 25.91 | 78 | Campus University | |
| 6.31 | 19 | Azad University | |
| 13.29 | 40 | Great | Your average? |
| 34.22 | 103 | Very Good | |
| 51.5 | 155 | Average | |
| 1.00 | 3 | Inappropriate | |
| 39.20 | 118 | First to fourth year | Academic year |
| 60.79 | 183 | Fifth to sixth year | |
| 82.72 | 249 | Isfahan | Highest frequency of the province of residence |
| 75.08 | 226 | Isfahan | Most frequent city of residence |
| 9.97 | 30 | Less high school | Mother's education |
| 24.27 | 82 | High school and diploma | |
| 62.7 | 189 | University | |
| 6.64 | 20 | Less high school | Father's education |
| 21.26 | 64 | High school and diploma | |
| 72 | 217 | University | |
| 6.64 | 20 | Doctor or dentist | Mother's job |
| 7.31 | 22 | Health services | |
| 86.05 | 259 | Other | |
| 16.28 | 49 | Doctor or dentist | Father's job |
| 1.66 | 5 | Health services | |
| 82.06 | 247 | Other | |
| 16.94 | 51 | Yes | Doctor or dentist in your close relatives? |
| 83.06 | 250 | No | |
| 23.4 | Average age | ||
Among the 12 dental specialties, orthodontics followed by oral and maxillofacial surgery, restorative dentistry, endodontics and pediatric dentistry were the most preferred among participants. Specialties such as dental materials, community-oriented dentistry and pathology, oral and maxillofacial diseases were the least preferred.
Table 3 shows the results of the conditional logit model for the components related to the choice of dental specialties. All variables in the model were statistically significant at the 99% level with respect to the probability of students choosing a specialty. The probability of choosing a specialty increased for fields with higher prestige and good income, and moderate to low job stress. Higher tuition fees for residency programs reduced the probability of choosing a dental specialty. Specialties with a very difficult or longer residency period was less likely to be chosen. Additionally, interest in a field of study increased the probability of choosing it.
Table 4 presents the modeling results for specialty selection separately for male and female students. The length of residency was not significant for men, but was significant for women; shorter residency period significantly increased the probability of choosing a specialization by female students. Therefore, women and men showed different preferences regarding the length of the residency period. Other factors were important for both men and women, showing a statistically significant relationship with the probability of choosing a specialty at the 99% level.
As shown in Table 5, all components of the conditional logit model for first- and final-year students were significant at the 99% level, while prolonged residency was significant at the 95% level.
Table 3 shows the results of the conditional logit model for the components related to the choice of dental specialties. All variables in the model were statistically significant at the 99% level with respect to the probability of students choosing a specialty. The probability of choosing a specialty increased for fields with higher prestige and good income, and moderate to low job stress. Higher tuition fees for residency programs reduced the probability of choosing a dental specialty. Specialties with a very difficult or longer residency period was less likely to be chosen. Additionally, interest in a field of study increased the probability of choosing it.
Table 4 presents the modeling results for specialty selection separately for male and female students. The length of residency was not significant for men, but was significant for women; shorter residency period significantly increased the probability of choosing a specialization by female students. Therefore, women and men showed different preferences regarding the length of the residency period. Other factors were important for both men and women, showing a statistically significant relationship with the probability of choosing a specialty at the 99% level.
As shown in Table 5, all components of the conditional logit model for first- and final-year students were significant at the 99% level, while prolonged residency was significant at the 95% level.
Table 3. The results of the components related to the choice of specialty of dental students
| Conditional logit model | Variables | ||
| Odd ratio | Coefficient | ||
| - | - | Not good* | Income and prestige |
| 3.258 | 1.181 | Good | |
| - | - | Tuition* | Tuition |
| 1.342 | 0.294 | Free | |
| - | - | High* | Job stress |
| 1.608 | 0.475 | Medium | |
| 1.690 | 0.525 | Low | |
| - | - | Not hard* | Hardness of residency |
| 0.803 | -0.218 | Hard | |
| - | - | Medium length* | Prolonged residency |
| 0.852 | -0.159 | Prolonged | |
| - | - | No * | Intuitive motivation |
| 2.775 | 1.020 | Yes | |
| 806.52 (P<0.0001) | Wald |
||
Table 4. Conditional logit model for components of specialty selection for male and female students
| Male | Female | Variables | |||
| Odd ratio | Coefficient | Odd ratio | Coefficient | ||
| - | - | - | - | Not good* | Income and prestige |
| 3.523 | 1.259 | 3.081 | 1.125 | Good | |
| - | - | - | - | Tuition* | Tuition |
| 1.411 | 0.344 | 1.285 | 0.251 | Free | |
| - | - | - | - | High* | Job stress |
| 1.521 | 0.419 | 1.687 | 0.523 | Medium | |
| 1.615 | 0.479 | 1.761 | 0.566 | Low | |
| - | - | - | - | Not hard* | Hardness of residency |
| 0.783 | -0.244 | 0.820 | -0.197 | Hard | |
| - | - | - | - | Medium length* | Prolonged residency |
| 0.883 | -0.124 | 0.824 | -0.192 | Prolonged | |
| - | - | - | - | No * | Intuitive motivation |
| 2.825* | 1.038 | 2.766 | 1.017 | Yes | |
| 353.30 (P<0.0001) | 457.55 (P<0.0001) | Wald |
|||
| Junior | Senior | Variables | |||
| Odd ratio | Coefficient | Odd ratio | Coefficient | ||
| - | - | - | - | Not good* | Income and prestige |
| 2.974 | 1.090 | 3.941 | 1.371 | Good | |
| - | - | - | - | Tuition* | Tuition |
| 1.316 | 0.275 | 1.390 | 0.329 | Free | |
| - | - | - | - | High* | Job stress |
| 1.552 | 0.439 | 1.726 | 0.545 | Medium | |
| 1.566 | 0.448 | 1.927 | 0.656 | Low | |
| - | - | - | - | Not hard* | hardness of residency |
| 0.831 | -0.184 | 0.760 | -0.273 | Hard | |
| - | - | - | - | Medium length* | Prolonged residency |
| 0.851 | -0.160 | 0.846 | -0.166 | Prolonged | |
| - | - | - | - | No * | Intuitive motivation |
| 2.553 | 0.937 | 3.277 | 1.187 | Yes | |
| 459.87 (P<0.0001) | 353.57 (P<0.0001) | Wald |
|||
*Reference groups
Discussion
The results of this study showed the students preferred clinical specialties. The most chosen fields were orthodontics, oral, maxillofacial surgery, restorative dentistry, endodontics and prosthetics. On the other hand, fields such as dental materials, community-oriented dentistry, pathology, and oral and maxillofacial diseases were the least preferred. Oral and maxillofacial surgery has a longer residency period than other specialties and involves night shifts and on-call duties, making it physically difficult. These factors may explain why female students are less interested in this field compared to male students. Orthodontics is also a specialty with relatively high physical depreciation, but its residency period is shorter than oral and maxillofacial surgery, and it has a relatively high income and prestige. Hatipoglu [9] and Puryer [10] showed that orthodontics is particularly popular among female students due to the younger age range of patients. Puryer [10] confirmed that orthodontics, followed by restorative specialties, provide high income and financial well-being for dentists, making them attractive for students. Regression analysis showed both financial factors, including expected income and tuition fees during the residency period, and non-financial factors such as individual interest, length and difficulty of the residency period, physical wear and tear, and job stress, influenced specialty choice.
Most students, regardless of gender and year of study, preferred to specialties with higher income and prestige. Achieving a well-paying job and a high social status makes the young people choose certain specialties. Kanmodi et al. [11] found that male students at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria considered prestige as an influential factor in choosing a specialty. In a study by Alnomay et al. [12] on 600 dental students and graduates from various universities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, financial security was also significant. Hatipoglu [9] studied 436 fourth- and fifth-year dental students in Turkey and showed that income and prestige were the main factors for choosing a specialty. However, this factor was not significant for dental students in some high-income countries such as the UK, Denmark, Australia and Canada [13-16]. Culture differences and per capita income may explain the different preferences of students in high- and middle-income countries [9].
Tuition fees were a significant consideration for students of all academic years and genders. Students preferred studying in universities without tuition fees. Shin et al. [17] in a study found that academic debt played an important role among dental students at Harvard University to choose a dental specialty. They concluded that the increased interest in certain fields between the two periods of study (2008 and 2013) may be due to the high debt burden that students face upon graduation. This suggests that dental education policymakers can help students make career decisions based on personal interest rather than financial burden, leading to more satisfactory long-term outcomes.
In the present study, personal interest was an effective factor in selecting a specialty for both genders and for junior and senior students. Purrier et al. [10] Shakurnia and Nejadi [18] and also reported similar results among final year dental students in England, and dental residents in Ahvaz, Iran, respectively. The long residency period was not significant for men but was significant for women and for students across academic years. Hashmipour [19] also found the importance of a shorter education period for choosing a specialty among dental students in Iran. Purrier [10] reported the residency duration as the most important factor with a negative impact. The perceived ease of residency was also important for all students. This finding is consistent with the study by Shakurnia and Nejadi [18] and Hatipqlou [9].
Limitation
This study had some limitations, the most significant of which was the COVID-19 situation and the limited access to students. Due to the reduced physical presence of students in academic settings, the questionnaires were distributed online.
Conclusion
This study indicated that comfort and low job stress were significant factors influencing choice of specialty, consistent with other studies [20]. The findings suggest that students preferred clinical fields rather than preventive services. Patients pay for treatments with immediate benefits. Therefore, students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each specialty and choose fields that are more beneficial. That is why students prefer medical specialties. Additionally, dentistry is inherently clinical, so students generally pursue specialties with a clinical nature, unless their interests lie in health management, prevention or health promotion. Some fields, such as community-oriented dentistry and dental materials, require longer training periods and harder work than clinical specialties. They also offer lower income and social prestige than other specialties. Acceptance in some fields such as the diagnosis of oral, maxillofacial diseases and oral and maxillofacial pathology has decreased in recent years due to lower income, longer residency period, and lower tariff in clinical work. Therefore, individuals who enter these fields are those interested in research work and academic careers.
Online supplement
Questionnaires
Declarations
Ethical considerations: This manuscript obtained ethical code IR.IAU.DEHAGHAN.REC.1399.008
Funding: None
Conflicts of interests: None
Authors’ contribution: Sh.M: Study design, data curation, validation, data analysis, writing– original draft, final approval; Sh.M: Conceptualization, study design, methodology, data analysis, supervision, project administration, writing– review & editing, final approval; M.M: Methodology, software, validation, data analysis, writing– review & editing, final approval; SMR.D: Data curation, writing– review & editing, final approval. All authors have read and approved the final text of the article.
Consent for publication: This study has no consent for publication.
Data availability: The data used in this study will be made available upon request, if needed.
AI deceleration: None
Acknowledgements: I need to express my sincere gratitude to the professors, administrators and staff of Dehaghan Azad University. Also, the questionnaire of this article was distributed in the Faculty of Dentistry of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, so I am grateful for the cooperation of the dear managers and personnel of this faculty. Also, I sincerely appreciate the participants in this research. is a part of a Ph.D thesis approved by Islamic Azad University in 2020 with code 1834812880442671398171190.
References
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Health Economics
Received: 2024/12/3 | Accepted: 2025/09/3 | Published: 2025/09/21
Received: 2024/12/3 | Accepted: 2025/09/3 | Published: 2025/09/21
Supplement [PDF 1591 KB] (50 Download)
References
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