The dental workforce in Kentucky: current status and future needs

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Geospatial Analysis

Background:

• Geographic maldistribution of dental providers is a significant barrier to oral health care access, particularly in rural and underserved regions.
• Kentucky faces challenges in dental provider distribution, impacting oral health equity across its diverse regions.
• Understanding socioeconomic factors influencing dentist practice location is crucial for addressing healthcare disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the geographic distribution of dentists in Kentucky.
• To identify socioeconomic correlates of dental practice locations.
• To project future dental provider availability and inform policy for improved oral health access.

Main Methods:

• Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of dentist addresses.
• Poisson regression modeling and geospatial analyses using SAS and ArcGIS.
• Simulation modeling to project dentist-to-population ratios to 2016.

Main Results:

• Significant disparities in dentist distribution were observed between rural, urban, and Appalachian Kentucky counties.
• Dentists were more prevalent in areas with higher per capita income and physician-to-population ratios.
• Projected decreases in dentist-to-population ratios suggest widening disparities in underserved areas.

Conclusions:

• Kentucky exhibits present and increasing workforce disparities in rural and socioeconomically depressed counties.
• Geographic distribution patterns and socioeconomic factors are key to understanding dental workforce challenges.
• Informing workforce development and reimbursement policies is essential for enhancing oral health care access in underserved areas.