Online Dental Continuing Education: Rural Dentists Love It

Post your comments about continuing education to our blog.

In this survey, we asked dentists if they have used the Internet as part of their formal dental continuing education. The slight majority (57%)
said yes, while 43% of dentists still complete their dental CE hours the old-fashioned way.

Read the dentists’ comments for more insight into their thoughts.

Geography plays a critical role in how likely dentists are to go online for their continuing education hours. Though the majority of urban dentists only
attend seminars and classes in person, a mere 8% of rural dentists reported the same thing.

While dentists in urban and suburban areas have access to high-quality dental continuing education, the same cannot always be said for their rural
counterparts. To get the CE they want and need, most rural dentists go online.

Gender also plays a role in a dentist's continuing education. While the majority of male dentists report using the Internet to complete their dental
continuing education hours, the same does not seem to be true of their female colleagues.

 

Sometimes, general dentists and specialists do agree! The two groups use the Internet as part of their dental CE in an almost identical fashion.

For more insight into what our respondents are thinking, check out their comments!

Online CE is wonderfully convenient

• "I enjoy attending sessions in person, but I like the convenience of online CDE." (General dentist, rural Arizona)
• "Online CE is very good and convenient." (General dentist, rural Tennessee)

I like online CE

• "My online continuing education went well. I will do it again."
  (General dentist, rural Minnesota)
• "Online classes were easy and rewarding. In addition, dental conventions are also a great place to log many CE hours." (General dentist, suburban Oregon)

I don't like online CE

• "I focus on several-high end academy meetings. The online CE
  that I have seen has little to offer me." (General dentist, suburban Washington)