Geographic Trends in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Match.

Abstract

Background: Matching into Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) residency in the United States (US) is competitive. Various surgical and medical specialties found that a relationship exists between the geographic location where an applicant attends medical school and the location where they attend residency. However, information regarding this geographic relationship does not exist in OMS.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate if a relationship exists between the location of an applicant's dental school and the location of the OMS program where they match for residency.

Study design, setting, sample: Study team conducted a cross-sectional review of all civilian OMS applicants who participated in the Postdoctoral OMS Matching Program from 2012 to 2022. US States and the District of Columbia were subdivided into a specific Region and Division as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Predictor variable: The primary predictor variable was the geographic location of the applicant's dental school.

Main outcome variable: The outcome variable was the geographic location where the applicant matched for residency.

Covariates: There were no covariates analyzed in the study.

Analyses: Frequency tables were created for the expected and observed values for each possible combination of dental school and residency location. MATLAB R2023a software was used for statistical analysis. χ² test, odds ratio and confidence interval were calculated to investigate association between variables. P values were <.05.

Results: 1768 applicants were reviewed. The inclusion criteria consisted of civilian OMS applicants from 2012 to 2022 who matched into residency. Of the 968 applicants who met the inclusion criteria, 48.45% (469/968, P -value < .001) matched into a residency in the same US Region as their dental school; 36.26% (351/968, P value < .001) matched into the same US Division. Applicants were found to be significantly more likely to match into a program in the same US Region and Division as their dental school.

Conclusion and relevance: It is likely that individuals will match into OMS residency in the same US Region and Division as their dental school. This information helps applicants and residency programs during the match process.