Dental Group Practice and the Need for Dentists

Abstract

This study compared the number of patients treated per year by general dentists and dental hygienists in solo practice and by those employed by a large group practice. Information on the annual number of patient visits to solo general dental practitioners comes from the 2013 American Dental Association (ADA) Survey of Dental Practice. Patient visits were divided by 2.5 to estimate the number of patients treated annually. The data on group practices come from HealthPartners (HP) of Minnesota, a large not-for-profit medical and dental Health Maintenance Organization that accepts insurance contracts based on global budgets and is financially at risk. In 2013, solo general dentists averaged 1,350 patients, while the average HP general dentist treated 2,052 patients. HP general dentists thus treated over 700 more patients annually than did solo practitioners. This large difference has major implications for the future of the dental delivery system and dental education. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 Century."

Current State of Dental Education: Executive Summary

“…In part, this results from some schools’ closing their Advanced Education in General Dentistry or General Practice Residency programs. However, the demand for postdoctoral general dentistry programs may expand in the future as owners of group practices prefer to hire graduates who have completed that type of training 22 , 23 …”

Care delivery and compensation system changes: a case study of organizational readiness within a large dental care practice organization in the United States

“…Increasingly, dental providers in the United States are employed in large dental group practices with 500 or more employees [ 1 – 3 ]. These care delivery systems, along with Federally Qualified Health Care Centers, have become part of the safety net for low-income enrolled children and pregnant women whose healthcare is paid for largely by the national and state governments [ 4 ].…”

Estimating the Number of Dentists Needed in 2040

“…7,8 These estimates vary because of differences in estimation methods. 10 Whatever the actual number of patients treated annually per dentist, a 2015 American Dental Association (ADA) survey reported that close to 40% of solo practice dentist owners said they were not as busy as they would like to be. The higher estimate comes from selfreporting.…”

“…The former number was seen after the 2007 to 2009 recession. 10 Whatever the actual number of patients treated annually per dentist, a 2015 American Dental Association (ADA) survey reported that close to 40% of solo practice dentist owners said they were not as busy as they would like to be. 11 Thus, many dentists indicated that they already can manage more patients than they are currently treating.…”

“…This practice reported that its full-time general dentists treat, on average, 2,200 patients per year. 10 The reasons for this much larger number of patients per dentist are not fully understood but are likely to be related to the greater use of allied health personnel and adherence to evidence-based clinical guidelines. As additional group practices follow the HealthPartners of Minnesota clinical management approach, they are likely to achieve similar rates of increased productivity in terms of the average number of patients managed per dentist per year.…”