Match or non-Match: at the crossroads

Introduction: The National Matching Service provides an ethical and unbiased selection process between residency programs and candidates. Currently, 51 of the 66 accredited orthodontic residency programs in the United States participate in the matching service for orthodontic programs (the Match), and 15 do not. Our purpose was to identify the factors that contribute to an orthodontic residency program's decision to participate in the Match program or to refrain from doing so.

Methods: A survey was sent to 64 orthodontic programs regarding their perception of the Match. A qualitative content analysis of the survey responses was conducted. Common recurring themes were identified. Simple descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data.

Results: Fifty-six programs responded to the survey. Survey content analysis showed 2 prevailing themes: orthodontic programs participate in the Match because they believe it is a fair process, or they refrain from participating so that they can pressure selected candidates to accept positions early.

Conclusions: Participation in the Match benefits candidates, schools, and orthodontic education in general. Candidates can interview at multiple schools and rank their choices without the pressure of early acceptance. Orthodontic programs are forced to compete for strong candidates; this ultimately strengthens the education their residents receive. The Match can accommodate complex requirements of different programs, including allowing them to recruit a certain mix or a diversity of students. We concluded that all orthodontic residency programs in the United States should participate in the Match.