Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Private dental visits per dentist in Spain from 1987 to 1997

2002; Wiley; Volume: 30; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1034/j.1600-0528.2002.00055.x

1600-0528

Manuel Bravo,

Dental Education, Practice, Research

Abstract Objectives: In view of the sharp increase in the number of dentists in Spain, the aim of the present study was to analyse changes in the private dentist workload in Spain over the period 1987–97. Methods: Data were taken from censuses of the population and of dental practitioners, and from the Spanish National Health Interview Surveys. The percentage of people that had visited the dentist in the 3 months prior to the survey was calculated, and of these, the percentage whose last visit was private. The total number of visits made by those people was taken as the estimate of total private visits in Spain during 3 months. Total private activity in 1 year was derived by multiplying this estimate by four. Annual private activity was then divided by the number of dentists. Results: From 1987 to 1997, the Spanish population grew 2.5% (from 38.7 to 39.7 million) and the number of dentists increased by 136.1% (from 6373 to 15 044). The total annual number of private dental visits (±SE) was 35.7 ± 1.0 million in 1987, and 48.9 ± 2.0 million in 1997 – a 36.8% increase. Thus, the mean number of private dental visits per dentist decreased 42.0% (from 5610 ± 152 to 3251 ± 133). Conclusion: A significant reduction in private dental visits per dentist is taking place in Spain.