Differences in the Ratios of General and Dental Specialists in Europe

Javier Fernández-Serrano; Eugenia García-Espona; José Antonio Alarcón; Cristina García-Espona; Ignacio García-Espona

doi:10.1016/j.identj.2023.12.004

Differences in the Ratios of General and Dental Specialists in Europe

Int Dent J. 2024 Jan 15:S0020-6539(23)00984-X. doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2023.12.004. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Javier Fernández-Serrano¹, Eugenia García-Espona¹, José Antonio Alarcón², Cristina García-Espona¹, Ignacio García-Espona³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Stomatology, Section of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
² Department of Stomatology, Section of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: jalarcon@ugr.es.
³ Department of Stomatology, Section of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; President of the Spanish Association of Orthodontists (AESOR), Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 38228432
DOI: 10.1016/j.identj.2023.12.004

Abstract

Background: The European Economic Area (EEA) is composed of member states with a multitude of different regions. This study aimed to analyse the ratios of general dentists and dental specialists to the total population and the proportion of dental specialists to general dentists in 24 European countries and to explore specific intranational differences within 2 countries: France and Germany.

Methods: Available official documents and webpages from the United Kingdom and 23 of the 30 countries comprising the EEA were analysed. Data were expressed as absolute values, ratios of general dentists and dental specialists in the total of population, and percentages of dental specialists/dentists. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to clarify the main ratios that distinguish France from Germany, and cluster analysis was employed to determine similar areas.

Results: Significant differences were found between countries, with Ireland and Austria having the lowest ratio of dentists and Romania and Greece having the highest. The Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark had the lowest ratios of dental specialists to the total population. Lithuania, Sweden, and Germany had the highest number of dental specialists. Orthodontists were the most numerous specialists (5.0% of dentists), followed by oral surgeons (2.7%). In France, differences between departments were pronounced and associated with the presence of dental schools and per capita income. In Germany, only the correlation between per capita income and the density of oral surgeons was significant.

Conclusions: Diverse ratios of general dentists and dental specialists to the total population and the proportion of dental specialists to general dentists were discovered within the examined countries, and their maximum values were 2.5, 5.7, and 4.1 times the minimum values, respectively. Differences were even found within the same country, as was the case in France and, to a lesser extent, in Germany.

Keywords: Dental specialties; Europe; Oral surgery; Orthodontics.