AHEC Review 
Spring 2009
(click here to download a pdf of this AHEC Review)
NC dentist supply down
After four years of moderate increases, the state’s supply of dentists per capita took a downward turn this past year, according to recently released data from the North Carolina Health Professions Data System at UNC-Chapel Hill. The report, entitled “The North Carolina Health Professions 2007 Data Book” is part of an annual review of the state’s supply of health professionals.
According to the report, between 2003- 2004, the dentist workforce grew by 4.8%, but from 2006-2007, it increased by only 1.6%. Adjusted for population, these increases translate into a 3.9% increase between 2003-2004 and a 0.7% decrease between 2006-2007.
North Carolina had 4.3 dentists per 10,000 population in 2007 compared to the US ratio of 6.1. Four counties in eastern North Carolina – Camden, Gates, Hyde, and Tyrrell – did not have an active dentist in 2007, and Camden and Tyrrell haven’t had a dentist since data collection began 1979. “The fact that our dentist supply is not keeping pace with population growth is of concern and a trend worth further monitoring,” said Erin Fraher, director of the Health Professions Data System. “North Carolina already lags behind the nation in dentist supply and we have an aging dentist workforce with nearly one in three dentists aged 55 and over. As this cohort begins to retire, it is likely that supply will contract at an even faster rate and some counties, particularly rural ones where dentists are an average three years older, may be left without a dentist in practice,” noted Fraher.
Although the legislature approved a new dental school at East Carolina University and an increase in enrollments at the dental school at UNC-Chapel Hill, these additional graduates will not enter the workforce until 2015 and 2016 respectively.
After adjusting for population growth, NC’s supply of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists increased while the supply of physicians in primary care specialties declined slightly in the same period. Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) grew at the fastest rate relative to population, increasing by 8.1% and 11.1% respectively.
The North Carolina Health Professions 2007 Data Book contains county-level
data for 19 health professions. For 30 years, the Health Professions Data System at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research has produced an annual report on the supply of licensed health care professionals in North Carolina. Monitoring of the state’s health professional supply is supported by the NC AHEC Program and the UNC Office of the Provost. Data for the report are provided by the health professions licensing boards.
Data are available in electronic format at the Sheps Center’s Health Professions Data System website. To order the 2007 edition contact the Sheps Center by email or by calling or (919) 966-7112.