An Investigation of the Filipino Dental Students' Personality Types

Abstract

Background: The Dentist Licensure Examination (DLE) is one of the most difficult pre-professional practice examinations in the Philippines. The personality type of a dental student can be a determining factor or a testfor-fit of the chosen college program, the DLE, and the eventual profession.

Objectives: This study aimed to document the personality dichotomies and MBTI personality categories of the respondents.

Methods: Through the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), this cross-sectional investigation examined the Filipino students' personality type in a dental school in the Philippines and presented it through descriptive statistics.

Results: In retrospect to the personality dichotomies, majority or 44 (17.19%) of the students were of the introverted feeling with intuition variety or the Introversion Intuition Feeling Perceiving (INFP) type. This personality type does not coincide with that of a dentist or dental student in other studies.

Conclusion: The mainstream dental students' personality types were inclined to traits that are indicative of the INFP professions (e.g. artists, counselors, social workers, etc.) and not of a prospective dentist. These findings will add to the database of dental education in the Philippines, and will enable the dental educators and schools to improve their educational strategies.