Abstract
Oral healthcare in Japan is undergoing enormous changes, including a sharp decrease in caries among younger generations and preservation of functional teeth among the elderly. At the same time, there is now mainstream recognition that the increase in the number of dentists is making management of dental clinics extremely difficult. In order to ensure provision of appropriate dental healthcare in Japan, it is essential to clarify the current status of dental clinics, which play a central role in dental health, and to understand how their role will change. We attempted to clarify the dynamics of dental clinics based on public data and to obtain source material for the investigation of future issues in the supply and demand of dentists. While the number of dental clinics has increased over time, the rate of increase has slowed since 2008. Extrapolating past data we predicted that in 2023 the number of clinics will level off. The number of new clinics opening has tended to decline year by year, while the total number of clinics closing temporarily or permanently is increasing, with a net decrease of 109 establishments in 2014. The number of dental clinics decreased in 27 prefectures in 2014, with the greatest decrease in Tokyo, where there was a loss of 68 establishments. The mean age of dentists running dental clinics was 52.2 years in 2014, which was the highest to date, with those in the 60-69 age bracket accounting for 20%. Although the yearly increase in the number of female dentists running dental clinics has been particularly striking, the number of clinics run by the 35-39 age group peaked in 2014 and has declined continually since. While the number of women establishing dental clinics has increased in recent years, the proportion is very low in comparison to men.
Our results suggest that the number of dental clinics will decrease in the future. In order to ensure a system of dental healthcare provision that meets the needs of patients, it is essential to focus on changes in the number of dental clinics and changes in the number of female dentists, which is showing a marked increase, rather than being concerned only with the number of dentists overall. (J Osaka Dent Univ 2018; 52: 157-162)
