Dentist to population ratio and geographic distribution of dentists in Iran in 2019

In the current healthcare system of Iran, there is a great emphasis on improving the quality healthcare services and access of all people to these services, especially in the field of oral health. Achieving this goal requires the provision of services by dentists. In order to adopt the best policies in this regard, having persistent knowledge on the number and distribution of the workforce is crucial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to present a report on the status of dental resources in Iran in 2019 based on the number of dentists.

In the present descriptive study, data was collected from several sources. The statistics of specialist dentists graduated in the country were collected through correspondence with all dentistry faculties of the country. In addition to presenting the statistics of available dentists and dentists employed in the country, the "dentist to population ratio" index was also used to examine the distribution of dentists across the country.

The number of general and specialist dentists across Iran in 2019 is calculated to be 30811 and 4593, respectively. Notably, the largest number of specialists was in the specialized field of endodontics (13.8%), and the lowest number belonged to oral and maxillofacial pathology (4.2%). In Iran, there are 43 dentists per 100000 people. The number of general and specialist dentists with office license and employed in the private sectors is 18287 and 2773, respectively. Moreover, overall, 36 state universities in 10 specialized fields offer courses with 1824 specialists as faculty members.

Although the number of general and specialist dentists in the country has increased considerably in recent years, the distribution of these individuals across different regions of Iran has been overlooked, and the dentist to 100000 population ratio differs in various provinces of the country.