Just to remind you of how bad it was going to get for dentist employers, here were some of the changes:. All of this added more stress and labour costs to practice owners. Thankfully, the Ontario Ford Conservative government did away with some of those changes and modified others.
The very recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Waksdale, 16 which Ontario Superior Court followed in the Sewell 17 Decision, have been absolutely devastating for dentist employers. These two cases, if not reversed or undone by provincial legislation, have the potential to render the majority of written employment agreements invalid. Dentists need to come together now and stop being the punching bag of poor public perception, negative media attention, power-tripping public health units, and anti-business and pro-employee government bodies.
Dentistry and operating a dental office used to be fairly straightforward and a very rewarding experience, compared to the much higher expectations and often draconian standards that are demanded of dentists today. The closest we can achieve is near perfection.
Furthermore, to add insult to injury, we find ourselves having to prove what is very obvious, in that dental offices have very high infection control standards and protocols thanks to IPAC which likely produces the safest environment for patients seeking healthcare services. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. We use cookies to make your website experience better. Print this page Tweet.
Dr Andres Traverse says:. Although only seven dental schools shuttered during this time, the combined enrollment cuts were equivalent to the closure of 20 averaged-sized dental schools.
Plus, the American people had better oral health than in decades past, which begged the question: Were dentists needed as much as they once were? One of its initiatives — the National Health Service Corps NHSC — provides loan repayment and scholarships to dental health professionals and students who commit to serving in HPSAs in underserved, high-need rural, urban and tribal communities throughout the United States. That data can be found at ada.
According to Vujicic, the bigger issue affecting workforce adequacy in dentistry is revealed in the research on why people do not go to the dentist. The other potential solution to the affordability problem is to raise the perceived benefit of visiting the dentist and then convince consumers to pay out of pocket for dental care, which Vujicic admitted seems much harder. Not per dentist. Not per capita. In total. Population demographics will start to change considerably in the next five to 10 years, Vujicic said.
Millennials will gain prominence, and baby boomers will decline. In sharp contrast to the school closures and enrollment cuts of the late s and s, dental schools are opening at a greater rate than closing.
In , the United States had 54 dental schools. The next highest enrollment was in —81, when 22, students were enrolled in American dental schools. HRSA programs are also making investments in dental training opportunities located in rural and other underserved communities. In the future, general dentists in rural communities may have to acquire a broader range of clinical skills to meet the unique needs of underserved people. How these trends evolve, along with other factors — such as emerging technologies and improving patient health status — offer a glimpse into future workforce challenges and opportunities.
Predicting the Future of the Dentist Workforce Several research studies have endeavored to estimate the demand for dentistry as far out as An overview of some findings includes:. Menu search user phone users Map Pin facebook twitter youtube linkedin youtube instagram. Balancing the general dentist shortage, the report predicts a surplus of certain dental specialists, including pediatric dentists.
Meyerhoefer, PhD, provides a more mixed prediction. The authors surmise that: Total dental visits will increase from million in to million in Dental visits per person will decrease from 0. The percentage of the population with a dental visit will rise from These conclusions were driven by analysis of the underlying factors impacting the future supply and demand of the dentist workforce. These factors can be grouped into two broad categories: population changes and dental practice changes.
Aside from population growth, population demographics will change, skewing younger as baby boomers die. The younger population — which has enjoyed water fluoridation, preventive dental education and expanded dental insurance coverage — points toward a future decrease in the number of dental visits per person and increased efficiencies during visits.
Preventive measures that have been commonplace for decades — such as the wide availability of fluoride — along with increasing expectations for oral health have had considerable effects on the oral health improvements over the past 50 years and will help shape the future of the field, said Eklund. Different dental health experiences between birth cohorts will result in major aggregate differences between and These differences will be further reinforced by the difference in the size of the birth cohorts, Eklund said.
Those born between the end of World War II and — the baby-boom generation — experienced far higher levels of decay as children than every birth group that has come since, Eklund explained. Another trend affecting the future of the dental workforce is mandated pediatric dental coverage in private health insurance plans. The consultant also argues that demand for services is likely to decline. Ron Weintraub, a Toronto dentist and consultant, said he believes such pressures on patient demand will be countered by a growing recognition among younger Canadians that good dental care is essential.
The expanding supply of dentists, though, is making the market more constricted, he agreed. He recommends dentists respond by running their practices more efficiently, ideally by joining forces with colleagues in group offices to share the hefty cost of equipment. It encourages marketing initiatives whereby patients will be drawn to the best marketers, rather than the best skills. Other observers, meanwhile, say the problem is not the number of dentists, but their concentration.
While some cities might have a glut, smaller communities and rural areas continue to be under-serviced, said Dr. Robert Sutherland, president of the Canadian Dental Association. He also acknowledged that dentists have become more consumer-oriented, shifting from operating nine-to-five out of non-descript, low-key premises, to more visible, people-friendly clinics with extended hours.
But he called that a natural evolution. One result of that concentration is a trend toward bidding wars for successful dental practices when they come on the market, he said. World Canada Local. Too many dentists means tough times for them, good deals for customers: report.
0コメント