When dental students matriculate at Iowa, they make predictions about what characteristics they expect their patients to have. The purpose of Desai's study is to assess whether dental students’ predictions regarding whom they will treat post-graduation corresponds with the types of patients alumni are treating five or more years after graduating. In the project, surveys will be mailed to all alumni who graduated between 2009-2018. The study will explore why some alumni treat the populations that they do, and identify populations that dentists would like to learn more about via CE courses. The findings could be beneficial in identifying particular changes in dental education that may increase the likelihood of practitioners treating underserved populations.

Desai's mentor for the project is Michelle McQuistan, associate professor in preventive and community health dentistry.