Dental education: evolving student trends.

As the health care professionals of tomorrow, the students of today are the future of our profession and will shape both dentistry and dental education. To provide historical perspective on today's students, this article summarizes trends in the demographics of allied, predoctoral, and advanced dental students in the United States over the past seventy-five years and reviews efforts made to promote the racial/ethnic diversity of these groups of students. These efforts include legislative initiatives and public and privately funded programs. An outlook for the future considers ways in which new technologies and social networks as well as coordinated interprofessional efforts might further promote the goal of educating students who reflect the diversity of the United States and position the oral health workforce to meet the country's needs.