Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 62, Issue 4, July–August 2017, Pages 177-178
Dental Abstracts

Commentary
Charting the course toward the future

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2017.03.002Get rights and content

Section snippets

Background

Radical changes from both inside and outside the dental profession are taking place all around us. These changes affect the organization and administration of all health care, and dentistry has proven it’s not immune to these alterations. Changes are not new to dentistry and some in the past have definitely improved the practice of dental care. However, today’s changes have the potential to change the fundamental nature of the dental profession.

Influences Leading to Change

The prevalence of oral diseases has been reduced significantly by the effective, appropriate preventive therapy offered by dentists; by having more widespread public water fluoridation; and by educating and motivating people to practice good oral health habits. Even with these successes, however, there are segments of the population that have not experienced this positive effect on oral disease.

The type of treatment offered in dental offices is no longer dominated by the treatment of disease

What the Future Holds

Considering all these changes in the demand for services, types of services, supply of dental practitioners, organization of the profession, and expansion of nondentist provision of services, the future face of dentistry will be altered. The most likely scenario is a two-tiered system determined primarily by reimbursement levels and the type of treatment being done. There are pressures to reduce reimbursement, and the result has been a significant negative impact on many young dentists who

References (0)

Cited by (0)

Guay AH: Where is dentistry going? Advice from the Cheshire cat. J Am Dent Assoc 147:853-855, 2016

Reprints available from AH Guay, Health Policy Inst, American Dental Assoc, 211 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail: [email protected]

View full text