Healthcare patterns in global dentistry
Investigators have examined the healthcare workforce across the world in order to help inform policies related to planning, recruitment, training, retention and access to care.
In a systematic analysis published in The Lancet Public Health, the investigators used 1990 to 2023 data to analyze shortcomings among 20 healthcare professional groupings across more than 200 countries and territories.
The investigators found that the number of healthcare workers increased by nearly 200% to more than 122 million between 1990 and 2023. They detailed that just over 6 million dentists and dental assistants were actively involved in the health system in 2023. Nearly 70% of the healthcare workers included in the study identified as female in 2023. Among dentists and dental assistants, about 50% and 90% of them identified as female, respectively.
Higher-income countries had the highest density of human resources for health compared with lower-income regions like sub-Saharan Africa. While the overall density of dentists increased by about 113% between 1990 and 2023, the density of dentists and dental assistants was about 17 per 10,000 individuals in higher sociodemographic index countries, about nine per 10,000 individuals in middle sociodemographic index countries and less than one per 10,000 individuals in low sociodemographic index countries. The investigators indicated that about 2 million more dentists would need to be added to the healthcare workforce in order to reach an effective universal health coverage index.
The findings revealed that despite substantial growth across the healthcare workforce over the past 36 years, significant disparities in healthcare access still remain.
Read more: The Lancet Public Health
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