Lindoni Azevedo C, Sampaio Mota J M, Crosato E M. Changes in dental students' entrepreneurial profile: a 10-year comparison. J Dent Educ 2026; DOI: 10.1002/jdd.70260.

Over ten years, students' cognitive organisation of entrepreneurial practice became more cohesive and strategically structured

This study assessed how the entrepreneurial and managerial perceptions of final-year dental students at the University of São Paulo (FOUSP) evolved over a decade marked by educational and socioeconomic change. A cross-sectional comparative design included two cohorts of final-year students enrolled in the Management and Planning in Dentistry course in 2014 (n = 107) and 2024 (n = 106). Sixty-three items addressing personal profile, management, entrepreneurship, and professional future were rated on a 4-point Likert scale. The 2014 network revealed fragmented and intradomain connections focused on financial control and infrastructure. By 2024, networks became denser and more cohesive, linking business, entrepreneurship, location, and personal profile domains. Leadership, strategic planning, and competitive differentiation emerged as high-centrality nodes, while purely financial motives lost prominence. Professional confidence and risk readiness remained limited, as item-level analyses revealed persistent hesitation regarding risk acceptance, reliance on external financing, and future professional commitments.