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Updated: Oct 7, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Which factors are associated with the number of dental providers employed in correctional settings?
Jack A Harris1, Lisa Simon2,3
1Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Objectives:
Individuals experiencing incarceration are at increased risk of poor oral health. The purpose of this study was to identify state-level factors that influence the number of oral healthcare providers employed in US correctional settings.
Methods:
This ecological study utilized the National Survey of Prison Health Care (NSPHC) to identify the total number of dentists employed in US correctional facilities. Descriptive statistics were calculated and a linear regression was used to identify predictors of the total number of dentists employed in correctional settings by state.
Results:
The mean number of dentists and dental hygienists/assistants per 10,000 individuals experiencing incarceration was 9.33 ± 4.54 and 11.53 ± 7.02, respectively. The only significant contributor to dental employment was healthcare spending per individual experiencing incarceration (Coefficient = 0.96; p = 0.004).
Conclusions:
These findings illustrate the need to develop novel methods of encouraging oral healthcare providers to join the correctional healthcare workforce.
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