Ever wonder where your sedation dentistry services are needed the most in the United States?
We did, too. We took a list of states with the worst oral health, combined it with those with the fewest active dentists and highest number of baby boomers; we then calculated which states have the highest patient to doctor ratio. It's rudimentary perhaps, but the results are pretty interesting. Without further ado...
Here are the states with the most need for sedation dentistry.
Observations
Arkansas claims our top spot: it has the highest number of baby boomer patients per doctor at 607 and has the 11th worst oral health according to Bloomberg.com. The following four states are all fairly close to each other in terms of patient:doctor ratio, but the dental health scores vary fairly significantly. Mississippi was ranked No.1 for worst dental health, but it has the highest number of active dentists in our list of five states. That said, there's clearly a need for more dentists!
West Virginia and Delaware's patient:doctor ratio are tied, but West Virginia's poor dental health rating (No. 3 in the US!) put it in our No. 4 spot over Delaware, which has the best dental health rating of all five states.
Methodology
How did we come up with this list? We used data from Bloomberg.com, the Kaiser Family Foundation and emsi to find the states with the worst oral health, the lowest number of active dentist and the highest number of baby boomers.
Sources:
The information contained in this, or any case study post in Incisor should never be considered a proper replacement for necessary training and/or education regarding adult oral conscious sedation. Regulations regarding sedation vary by state. This is an educational and informational piece. DOCS Education accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from any direct or indirect recipient's use of or failure to use any of the information contained herein. DOCS Education would be happy to answer any questions or concerns mailed to us at 106 Lenora Street, Seattle, WA 98121. Please print a copy of this posting and include it with your question or request.
