Abstract

Purpose: Despite previous research showing that there is an excess of dentists in Korea, there are demands to increase the number of dentists, with some local governments requesting the establishment of dental colleges and dental hospitals. Therefore, this study aims to propose long-term policy directions regarding the supply and demand of dentists in Korea by analyzing the distribution of dentists relative to the population and the current status of dentists by region. Methods: This study used public data. WHO's key indicator, active dentists per 100,000 population, was calculated by year, and differences in active dentists by region were analyzed using ANOVA. Results: From 2012 to 2022, the average annual rate of the number of active dentists per 100,000 people was 2.39%, which was higher than the average annual population growth rate(0.10%)(Table 1). The regional averages were ‘gu’ 66.52±55.78, ‘si’ 38.50±10.87, and ‘gun’ 29.91±7.35, showing a significant difference (p<0.0001), confirming the existence of a gap. Conclusions: The supply and demand of health care professionals is the most important factor for the stable operation of the health care system. To resolve regional differences, it is desirable to utilize existing dentists rather than creating new dentists.