Study reveals dental needs in Northwest Minnesota

A recent study by EvaluationGroup reveals a number of characteristics of dentists practicing within northwest Minnesota and explores strategies for ensuring that an adequate supply of dentists will be available in the future.

Findings revealed that approximately 84 dentists reside and practice within a 14-county region in Northwest Minnesota. Of these, four out of every five dentists practicing in the region attended the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.

"Clearly, the University of Minnesota dental school plays a large role in supplying our area dentists. Furthering partnerships and enhancing the lines of communication are keys to ensuring that supply of qualified dentist is available to work in our region," said Joan Tronson, executive director of the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) at the University of Minnesota, in a press release. AHEC supported the study of area dentists and is charged with implementing ongoing efforts towards maintaining an adequate healthcare workforce in the region.

Findings from the study related to the supply of dentists also found that approximately two dentists will retire or depart from the region each year. While these findings do not represent a major hurdle, over time it could represent a larger issue as more than 41% of the dentists in the region are aged 55 or older.

"There are lots of options on the table, but waiting until there is a major problem shouldn't be one of them," said Garth Kruger, Ph.D., director of EvaluationGroup. "We need to know more about the numbers of clients being served and their dental needs in addition to the types of dental services being offered and hours of operation. In this way we can proactively identify gaps in service locations and specialties."

The study showed that small group practices appear to be more prevalent in the AHEC region than in comparison to rural Minnesota and statewide, which bodes well for transferring a dental practice on from retiring practitioners.

Additionally, legislation expanding the role of services offered by dental hygienists through collaborative agreements was recently passed to help alleviate dental workloads in rural areas. Data from the study suggest that approximately only 4% of dentists in the AHEC region are currently utilizing collaborative agreements with dental hygienists.

While this type of arrangement cannot meet the comprehensive dental needs of communities, it does offer an additional and cost-effective way to prevent more serious dental problems, according to the Minnesota Dental Association.