Dental school tracks related to the retention of dentists in Thai government service: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: The shortage of dentists working in rural hospitals is an important public health problem resulting from dentist distribution inequity. The Ministry of Public Health of Thailand (MoPH) has implemented a policy of recruiting students with a rural background to be dental students and return home after graduating. This study aims to examine the relationship between admission tracks during the academic years 2005-2011 on retaining dentists in Thai government service and identify the factors associated with retention and resignation.