A Study on the Distance Radius of Dental Clinics

Abstract

The problem of the“distance radlus”of dental clinics has been nearly completely neglected to date. Therefore, in the present study the author was concerned with several observations concerning this subject.
A. As to the relationship between local social environments and the number of dentists and dental clinics, there was observed a high correlation between the population composition of prefectures under study and the number of dental clinics, with r=0.94. In terms of the age groups versus the number of dental clinics, the finding was that r=-0.65 in a group of family dependents, all indices showing negative values. In the relation between local economic activities and the dentist and dental clinic, the number of dentists and dental clinics was compared with the rate of road construction or improvement in the prefectures, the actual working hours of a local inhabitant on the average and the number of automobiles registered, suits possessed and piano possessors in a given prefecture. The findings were a positive correlation. But, when the number of library books and of high school graduates desiring to go into higher educational institutions or universities were compared with the number of dentists, the findings did not give correlation. In terms of the average monetary expenditure of a local inhabitant in a given prefecture versus the number of dentists, r=0.86, and, moreover, high correlations were observed between the purely disposable income and the number of dental clinics as r=0.98.
B. In four different dental clinics consiting of (1) a dental clinic in a commercial area, (2) a dental clinic in a residential district, (3) a dental clinic in medium-sized city, and (4) the dental department of a general hospital, the distance approximately 90% of the number of patients traveled was 0.75km in groups (1), 1.7km in group (2), 1.38km in group (3), and 5.5km in group (4). In the composition of national health insurance holders vs. distance, 90% of the patients in groups (1) and (2), the distance was more convenient for the family dependents, where the nearest was in group (3). In the number of treaement days vs. distance, the majority of patients amounting to 90% came from 0.8km in (1), 2.0km in (2) and as far as 12.5km in (3). As for group (4), the average distance was 9.3km. The number of those patients who were regular in their clinic attendance until they were fully cured was 69.6% in group (2), followed in order by (4), (1) and (3). 95% of the patients in group (2) came from 2.8km, followed in order by (1), (4) and (3), where the longest distance was 15.5km. A correlation of r=-0.55 was obtained between the number of dental clinics available within a radius of 1km and the number of patients living in it.