The Endodontic Workforce

Why do general dental practitioners refer to a specific specialist endodontist in practice?

“…General dental practitioners (GDPs) are the main referral source for specialist endodontists in practice (Johns et al. 2006).…”

A Survey for Endodontists in Today's Economy: Exploring the Current State of Endodontics as a Profession and the Relationship between Endodontists and Their Referral Base

“…Factors such as the progression of technology that allows GPs to perform more root canal therapy (12), the recent explosion in popularity of implants as a lucrative procedure across multiple specialties and GPs alike, the recent downturn of the U.S. economy (13), and an increase in both educational loans and interest rates for dental education (14) may affect endodontists' practices. Moreover, a study conducted by Johns et al (15) concluded that in the future, endodontists will have fewer endodontic-related diseases to treat because the majority of Generation X has substantially fewer total caries than their baby-boomers counterparts. A recent survey reported that recent GP graduates (#10 years) were more likely to adopt new technologies than those who practiced for >20 years, and more experienced GPs were more likely to take on more complicated cases than those with fewer years of practice (12).…”

Update on Imbalanced Distribution of Endodontists: 1995-2006

“…The question of determining the adequacy of the numbers of endodontists (and the profession in general) was reviewed in the earlier JOE report, with the following finding: ''Overall, the current supply of endodontists is able to adequately meet the current demand only in urban areas. In rural areas, general practitioners have to meet more of the demand for endodontic care, especially among patients unable or unwilling to commute to an urban area'' (3).…”