Oral Health, U.S. 2002 Annual Report
Section 16: DENTAL CARE WORKFORCE/
COST OF DENTAL CARE/
ACCESSIBILITY OF DENTAL CARE
| 16.5 |
Ratio of dentists to population and ratio of physicians to population |
The distribution of dentists within the population is an important factor in assessing how well the dental profession is meeting the current needs of the public. A complete assessment should also include both the need and demand for services, third-party programs, and related issues (Waldman, 1998). The data needed to conduct this type of assessment are not available and, consequently, most estimates still rely on dentists to population ratios.
SOURCES OF DATA
Analyses reported here are based on the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Professions' report on State Health Workforce Profiles, National Center for Health Workforce Information and Analysis (2000), and the annual report Distribution of Dentists in the United States published by the American Dental Association (ADA, 2000).
Figure 16.5.1 displays the ratios of practitioners per 100,000 population for dentists, primary care physicians, and all patient care physicians using data from HRSA. General findings include the following:
- The District of Columbia had the highest dentists to population ratio at 94.9 per 100,000.
- Excluding the District of Columbia, the dentists to population ratio by state ranged from 31.3 to 69 per 100,000.
- The four states with the highest dentists to population ratio were New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Hawaii.
- The four states with the lowest dentists to population ratio were Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, and North Carolina.
- In general, there were fewer dentists than physicians per 100,000 population, except in Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, and Vermont, where the ratios of dentists and physicians to population were similar.
A comparison of HRSA estimates of the number of dentists with the ADA estimates of professionally active dentists and with the ADA estimates of private practice dentists is shown per state in Figure 16.5.2.
REFERENCES
American Dental Association (ADA) Survey Center. Distribution of Dentists in the United States by Region and State, 1998. January, 2000.
Dill M, Salsberg E, Wing P, et al. HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles. Rockville, MD: Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Health Workforce Information & Analysis, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS, 2000.
Waldman HB. Changing number and distribution of orthodontists: 1987–1995. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics 1998;114:50–54.
Waldman HB. Fluctuations in the number and distribution of prosthodontists: 1987–1995.
J Prosthetic Dentistry 1998;79:585–590.
Figure 16.5.1. Number of dentists and physicians per 100,000 population in 1998 by state
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Source: Dill M, Salsberg E, Wing P, et al. HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles. Rockville, MD: Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Health Workforce Information & Analysis, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS, 2000.
Figure 16.5.2. Estimates of numbers of dentists by state
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Note: Total private practitioners are active practitioners.
Sources: Dill M, Salsberg E, Wing P, et al. HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles 2000. Rockville, MD: Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Health Workforce Information & Analysis, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS, 2000, and American Dental Association (ADA), Survey Center. Distribution of Dentists in the United States by Region and State, 1998. January, 2000. Materials used with permission of the American Dental Association.
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