Análise comparativa do número de cursos de Odontologia e cirurgiões-dentistas no Brasil e em outros países / Comparative analysis in the number of dental programs and dentists in Brazil and in other countries

Este artigo aborda a situação dos cursos de graduação em Odontologia no Brasil, entre 2008 e 2013, comparando-a com países da América do Sul, América do Norte, Europa e Oceania. Apresenta o crescimento do número de cirurgiões-dentistas no Brasil e nos países participantes da pesquisa, enfocando se há excesso ou escassez quando relacionado ao crescimento populacional. Analisa de forma comparativa a proporção de cursos de graduação em Odontologia no Brasil e nos países escolhidos com suas respectivas populações, elaborando um diagnóstico da situação dos cursos e dos profissionais no Brasil. Os resultados obtidos enfatizam a importância da normatização e do controle da Odontologia...

This study evaluates the situation of Dental Courses in Brazil between 2008 and 2013, comparing it with countries of South and North America, Europe and Oceania. It presents the number of Dentists in Brazil and in countries participating in this research, focusing if there is a lack of or excess of professionals relative to the population. The study also evaluates the number of Dental Courses in Brazil and in other countries in perspective to their population. It also elaborates a diagnosis on the current status of Dental Programs and of Dentists in Brazil. Results emphasize how important it is for authorities to manage and regulate Dentistry in the country...

Dental manpower in India: changing trends since 1920.

AIM: To analyse the changing trends in dental manpower production of India since 1920 and its development to date. METHODS AND MATERIAL: The databases consulted were those provided by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Dental Council of India, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics. RESULTS: In India, dental education was formally established in 1920 when the first dental college was started. Current data revealed that there are 301 colleges nationwide granting degrees in dentistry, with a total of 25,270 student positions offering annually. Both the distribution of dental colleges and of dentists varies among the regions of the country with the greatest concentration in major urban areas, resulting in limited coverage in rural regions. CONCLUSIONS: The current scenario indicates that there is lack of systematic planning in the allocation and development of dental colleges in India.

Oral health workforce planning part 2: figures, determinants and trends in a sample of World Dental Federation member countries.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: A range of factors needs to be taken into account for an ideal oral health workforce plan. The figures related to dentists, specialists, auxiliaries, practice patterns, undergraduate and continuing dental education, laws/regulations, the attitudes of oral health-care providers and the general trends affecting the practice patterns, work conditions and preferences of oral health-care providers are among such determinants. Thus, the aim of the present study was to gather such information from a sample of World Dental Federation (FDI) member countries with different characteristics. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was carried out among a sample of FDI member countries between March 2, 2012 and March 27, 2012. A questionnaire was developed addressing some main determinants of oral health workforce, such as its structure, involvement of the public/private sector to provide oral health-care services, specialty services, dental schools, trends in workforce and compliance with oral health needs, and a descriptive analysis was performed. The countries were classified as developed and developing countries and Mann-Whitney U-tests and chi-square tests were used to identify potential significant differences (P > 0.05) between developed and developing countries. All data were processed in SPSS v.19. RESULTS: In the18 questionnaires processed, the median number of dentists (P = 0.005), dental practices (P = 0.002), hygienists (P = 0.005), technicians (P = 0.013) and graduates per year (P = 0.037) was higher in developed countries. Only 12.5% of developed and 22.2% of developing countries reported having optimal number of graduates per year. It was noted that 66.7% of developing countries had more regions lacking enough dentists to meet the demand (P = 0.050) and 77.8% lacked the necessary specialist care (P = 0.015). Although developing countries reported mostly an oversupply of dentists, regardless of the level of development most countries did not report an oversupply of specialists. Most developed countries did not feel that their regulations (87.5%) complied with the needs and demands of the population and most developing countries did not feel that their undergraduate dental education (62.5%) complied. Migrating to other countries was a trend seen in developing countries, while, despite increased numbers of dentists, underserved areas and communities were reported. DISCUSSION: The cross-sectional survey study suggests that figures related to optimum or ideal oral health workforce and fair distribution of the available workforce does not seem to be achieved in many parts of the world. Further attention also needs to be dedicated to general trends that have the capacity to affect future oral health workforce.

Exponential growth of dental schools in Chile: effects on academic, economic and workforce issues.

In the last 30 years, Chile has undergone noteworthy economic development and an exponential growth in the access of its population to higher education. The aim of this paper was to review the changes in academic, economic and workforce issues that occurred as a consequence of the growth in supply of undergraduate dental vacancies between 1997 and 2011. Data collected from the Consejo de Educación Superior - CES, Comisión Nacional de Acreditación - CNA, and Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas de Chile - INE included these variables: number of dental schools, school type (private or traditional, see explanation below), city where the school is located, entry vacancies, total student enrollment, admission scores, percentile rank of dentistry as a university career, tuition fees, accreditation status, and number of inhabitants. There was an exponential increase in dental schools in Chile (5 to 34) that occurred in association with the rise in tuition fees (US$ 3900 to US$ 9800), a deterioration in the academic level of dental students (650 to 550 points in admission scores) and a predicted 77.5% oversupply of dentists by 2025, according to WHO criteria. The exponential increase in dental schools in Chile brought about negative consequences, such as increasing career costs, deterioration in the academic level of dental students, and an oversupply of dentists, associated with lower incomes and possibly leading to unemployment. Additional research should be conducted to determine whether an increase in the number of dentists can improve the population's access to dental care and reduce the oral disease burden.

Exponential growth of dental schools in Chile: effects on academic, economic and workforce issues

In the last 30 years, Chile has undergone noteworthy economic development and an exponential growth in the access of its population to higher education. The aim of this paper was to review the changes in academic, economic and workforce issues that occurred as a consequence of the growth in supply of undergraduate dental vacancies between 1997 and 2011. Data collected from the Consejo de Educación Superior - CES, Comisión Nacional de Acreditación - CNA, and Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas de Chile - INE included these variables: number of dental schools, school type (private or traditional, see explanation below), city where the school is located, entry vacancies, total student enrollment, admission scores, percentile rank of dentistry as a university career, tuition fees, accreditation status, and number of inhabitants. There was an exponential increase in dental schools in Chile (5 to 34) that occurred in association with the rise in tuition fees (US$ 3900 to US$ 9800), a deterioration in the academic level of dental students (650 to 550 points in admission scores) and a predicted 77.5% oversupply of dentists by 2025, according to WHO criteria. The exponential increase in dental schools in Chile brought about negative consequences, such as increasing career costs, deterioration in the academic level of dental students, and an oversupply of dentists, associated with lower incomes and possibly leading to unemployment. Additional research should be conducted to determine whether an increase in the number of dentists can improve the population's access to dental care and reduce the oral disease burden.

The impact of new dental schools on the dental workforce through 2022.

Following a wave of dental school closures from 1986 to 2001 and a perceived shortage of dentists, three new dental schools were established between 1997 and 2003, and eight more are in various stages of planning and development to open over the next decade. Conditions are moving rapidly, and several institutions have stated intentions to open new dental schools since this analysis. This article presents a supply-side analysis of the impact of the new schools on the effective dentist to population ratio, taking into account changes in graduation rates, retirement rate, population growth, productivity, and gender ratio of the profession. Demand-side factors including utilization, per patient expenditures, and case mix are addressed, as well as the implications of these changes on access to care and the future of the profession. Given approximately ten new schools, by 2022, an additional 8,233 graduates will have joined the workforce, or approximately three dentists per 100,000 people. Effective dentist to population ratios vary greatly depending on all of the factors addressed. Changes in productivity influence the effective ratio most significantly. Most probable scenarios for the dental workforce suggest a stable dentist to population ratio at minimum, with an increase likely given recent productivity changes. The increase in dentists will not noticeably improve access to care for low-income and rural populations absent additional public funding to support demand for these populations and concurrent measures to effect even distribution of dentists throughout the country.

A chronology of dental education in the United States.

Formal dental education in the United States began in 1840 with the opening of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. Other dental schools slowly began to emerge, gradually displacing the traditional preceptorship method of training for dentistry. The period of the late 1800s saw a surge in the number of dental colleges in the United States. These schools were largely proprietary in nature, meaning that they were not affiliated with major universities, were private, and were of a commercial nature and, usually, established to benefit their owners. As the trend toward affiliation of dental schools with universities gained impetus at the beginning of the 20th Century, and with the establishment of the Dental Educational Council of America, the trend continued. Finally, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching formed a committee, under the direction of Dr. William J. Gies, to study the entire system of dental education in America. Out of this landmark study came the strong recommendation that all dental schools become affiliated with major universities. Shortly after that study, in the early 1930s, the last proprietary school was abolished. This article traces the histories of dental schools, past and present, in the United States.

[Is there a need for an additional dental school in Israel? 2002 status and future forecasting].

Dental manpower planning is constantly in discussion throughout the world. Current data indicates a transition from oversupply reports 10 to 20 years ago to a present undersupply of dentists with a forecast for further shortage in the near future. The dental profession in Israel has gone through deep and extreme changes since the late 80'. Dentists are now at the "bottom of the barrel" and many abandoned the profession after long and demanding years of education. The future of the academic dental institutions is also unclear. In spite of the current unrealistic present, we are witnessing some processes that might change the status of the dental profession in Israel in the near future. Among these are the changing roll of female dentists in the profession, increasing age of practicing dentists, obligatory state licensing exams, less immigration of dentists and the natural growth of the population. Together with the expected increase of demand for dental care, a decrease in the number of dentists in Israel will result in a balanced dental manpower in 2011. Therefore, the necessity of establishing a third dental school in Israel was brought to discussion. Dental schools are responsible not only for students qualification as caregivers, but also for enrichment of practicing dentists with updated data, and qualifying specialist dentists in the various fields of the profession. At the present, there is no justification for establishing a third dental school in Israel. Nevertheless, it is obligatory to maintain and strengthen the two existing dental schools in spite of the needed high costs. Only in this way the profession will continue to enjoy a nation high quality professional and academic dental manpower. The continuous qualification of specialists will be maintained and an open "path" will be available for future manpower enlargement. Hastiness and rashness, which ended in national shortage of dentists in other countries, should be avoided in Israel.

Recursos humanos em saúde no Brasil: política e problemas / Health manpower in Brazil: policy and problems

Faz uma análise histórica e descritiva das características do sistema formador e do mercado de trabalho em saúde, e também a atualizaçäo de dados tradicionais de diagnósticos e a discussäo de determinados fatores de regulaçäo dos recursos humanos em saúde