Workforce practices of orthodontists in Australia: now and in the future

Abstract Objective To investigate current and future workforce practices of qualified orthodontists (QOs) and trainee orthodontists (TOs) in Australia. Methods An original piloted e-survey with questions regarding current practices and intended working practices of QOs and TOs was developed. The survey was distributed to 514 QO and 46 TO members of the Australian Society of Orthodontists (ASO) from January to June 2024 via REDCap ( https://www.project-redcap.org/ ). Reported hours were converted to full-time equivalent (FTE) units. One FTE unit equated to working 35 hr per week for 46 weeks in one year. Results The response rate was 30.7% for QOs and 69.5% for TOs. FTE units per clinician, on average, was 0.80 (SD: 0.28) for QOs and 1.01 (SD: 0.14) for TOs. There was no difference between female and male clinicians related to FTE units ( p < 0.05). For QOs and TOs, 48.3% and 34.3%, respectively, reported that they would work in metropolitan areas only. “Prefer to be close to friends and family” for QOs (84%) and “enough work in metropolitan areas” for TOs (100%) were the most reported reasons for working in metropolitan areas only. For QOs, 43.6% of respondents reported that they spent most of their hours working in “solo owner” roles. Fifty-one (29.9%) of the QO respondents indicated that they intended to retire within the next 5 years. Conclusions Over the next 5 years, the specialist orthodontic workforce in Australia is likely to experience losses particularly in non-metropolitan areas and in “solo owner” practices. This may have a significant impact on orthodontic treatment provision in Australia.