NUMBER OF APPLICANTS AND EXAMINATION FREQUENCY AT THE DENTAL SCHOOLS IN SWEDEN 1968-1992

The number of applicants to the dental schools in Sweden 1968-1987 has been documented. It was shown that there was a large number of applic ants up to 1980. Then the number dropped dramatically. It was at its l owest in 1985 but increased slowly after this date. The number of appl icants was related to other variables: the birth rate, education capac ity, real wage and unemployment. A correlation and time series analysi s shows that only real wage has an impact on the number of applicants. The number of applicants has also been related to the examination rat e. The results show that the examination rate decreases when the appli cation rate is going down.