Structure and types of dental manpower

The different categories of dental health personnel, professional, operating and non-operating auxiliary are defined and their roles examined. Where professional and auxiliary dental manpower is in short supply the use of non-dental personnel such as teachers and health educators should be emphasised as a means of providing firrst aid and preventive measures. Manpower remains the central problem in improving oral health. Although the number of dental schools and the total number of dentists has increased in the past two decades, the dentist/population ratio has declined. Considerable variations occur between countries and the geographical distribution within countries is very uneven, an undue proportion often practising within the large cities. A greater increase in numbers of dentists, though desirable, will not be sufficient to solve the problem of adequate dental health coverage in this century. The advanced skills of the dental graduate are not required for many routine procedures and greater use must be made of operating auxiliaries. More research is needed into the best composition of the dental team. Increased use of larger, more complex teams seems likely to be the most important development for the future. This will require a careful reappraisal of the curricula for all categories of personnel. WHO is actively engaged in formulating guidelines for dental administrators in the development of educational and planning criteria for the improvment of dental health.