2019 Dentist Workforce Report
Based on 2017-2019 Licensure Renewal Data
Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
Published Summer 2020
1
Characteristics of Licensed Dentists Practicing in Georgia, 2019
In 2019, there were 5,143 dentists actively practicing in the state of Georgia. Between 2017 and 2019, there has been an increase of 450 dentists practicing in Georgia, or a growth of 9.6% since 2017. The rate of dentists per 100,000 people is 48.43 in 2019 (using the Census 2019 population estimate of 10,617,423)1. This represents an increase of 2.94 dentists per 100,000 population from the 2017 report. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), the rate of dentists to 100,000 population in the entire United States was 61.0 in 20182, which places Georgia's rate among the lowest 20% of states. There were 21 counties with no dentists, which represents a population of 179,685 (using Census 2019 population estimate). This is a decrease of 19,632 Georgians who do not have a dentist practicing in their county from 2017. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook shows that the dentist occupation is expected to grow by 7% between 2018-2028, which is faster than the average for other occupations3.
1 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/GA# 2 https://www.ada.org/en/science-research/health-policy-institute/dental-statistics/workforce 3 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dentists.htm
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Distribution of Dentists by Age Group
Distribution by Age Group
>65 17%
<35 14%
60-64 12%
35-39 11%
55-59 9%
50-54 11%
40-44 13%
45-49 13%
The 2019 Dental Survey indicates the average age of licensed dentists actively practicing in Georgia is 50.27 years old. The largest age group consists of those 65 or older, constituting 17% of the total. The smallest age group is those aged 55-59, which is 9% of the total. The ADA stated that the largest age group nationally was 35-44, at 23.4% of the total dentists in the U.S2. In addition, a slightly smaller percentage of dentists nationally were over age 65 (15.8% from ADA) 2. Together this indicates that Georgia's dentist workforce is older than that of the national average.
PERCENTAGE
Distribution by Age Group, 2015-2019
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
<35
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
>64
2015 2017 2019
Since 2015, the percentage of dentists in the <35, 50-54, 60-64, and >64 age groups has increased. The percentage of dentists in the 35-39, 40-44, and 55-59 age groups has decreased, while the 45-49 age group has stayed approximately the same.
3
Distribution of Dentists by Gender
Female 32%
Male 68%
Of the 5,143 respondents in 2019, 3,408 (68%) are male and 1,600 (32%) are female. This represents a small increase in the percentage of female dentists since 2017, when 31% of respondents identified as female. In 2018, the ADA stated that 32.3% of dentists nationally were female4. In comparison with the ADA's dentist data for other states, Georgia's percentage female is above the national average.
PERCENTAGE
Distribution by Gender, 2015-2019
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
0 FEMALE
MALE
2015 2017 2019
Since 2015, the percentage of dentists who identify as female has increased, while the percentage male has decreased. The number of female dentists has increased by 22.8% since 2015 (from 1,303 in 2015 to 1,600 in 2019).
4 https://www.ada.org/en/science-research/health-policy-institute/dental-statistics/workforce
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Distribution of Work Hours per Week
Distribution of Work Hours per Week
Less than 30
21%
30 hours or more
79%
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Distribution of Work Hours by Gender
Less than 30
30 hours or more
Female
Male
In 2019, 79% of dentists reported working 30 hours or more per week, which is down from 80% of dentists in 2017. In 2019, male dentists are more likely to report working 30 hours or more per week than female dentists.
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Distribution of Dentists by Specialty
The vast majority of dentists (75%) practice in general dentistry in 2019. The remaining 25% of dentists practice in other specialties, namely orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics (6%), pediatric dentistry (6%), oral and maxillofacial surgery (4%), periodontics (3%) and endodontics (3%).
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Distribution of Practicing Dentists in Georgia, 2015-2019
Total Dentists by Year, 2015-2019
5,200
5,143
5,000
TOTAL DENTISTS
4,800 4,600 4,400
4,454
4,693
4,200
4,000
2015
2017 YEAR OF LICENSURE
2019
GBHCW began reporting on the dentist supply and distribution in Georgia in 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, the percentage growth in total dentists was 5.4%. Between 2017 and 2019, the percentage growth in total dentists was 9.6%.
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Distribution of Practicing Dentists by Georgia County, 20152019
COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA APPLING ATKINSON BACON BAKER BALDWIN BANKS BARROW BARTOW BEN HILL BERRIEN BIBB BLECKLEY BRANTLEY BROOKS BRYAN BULLOCH BURKE BUTTS CALHOUN CAMDEN CANDLER CARROLL CATOOSA CHARLTON CHATHAM CHATTAHOOCHEE CHATTOOGA CHEROKEE CLARKE CLAY CLAYTON CLINCH COBB COFFEE COLQUITT COLUMBIA COOK COWETA CRAWFORD CRISP DADE DAWSON DECATUR DEKALB DODGE DOOLY DOUGHERTY DOUGLAS EARLY
GENERAL
DENTISTRY
3,764 2 0 2 0
15 0
18 28
7 3 68 2 1 0 14 21 2 3 3 17 1 35 14 1 127 0 7 94 53 0 31 1 377 12 10 62 5 39 0 8 1 11 8 307 9 2 36 36 3
OTHER
PRACTICE
TYPE
1,379 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 9 0 0
28 0 0 0
11 8 0 0 0 3 0 8 8 0
57 0 0
45 15
0 5 0 149 4 2 38 0 14 0 0 1 4 1 107 1 0 12 17 0
TOTAL
DENTISTS
5,143 2 0 2 0
18 0
19 37
7 3 96 2 1 0 25 29 2 3 3 20 1 43 22 1 184 0 7 139 68 0 36 1 526 16 12 100 5 53 0 8 2 15 9 414 10 2 48 53 3
POPULATION
(2019)
10,617,423 18,386 8,165 11,164 3,038 44,890 19,234 83,240
107,738 16,700 19,397
153,159 12,873 19,109 15,457 39,627 79,608 22,383 24,936 6,189 54,666 10,803
119,992 67,580 13,392
289,430 10,907 24,789
258,773 128,331
2,834 292,256
6,618 760,141
43,273 45,600 156,714 17,270 148,509 12,404 22,372 16,116 26,108 26,404 759,297 20,605 13,390 87,956 146,343 10,190
RATE
PER
100,000
48.4 10.9
0.0 17.9
0.0 40.1
0.0 22.8 34.3 41.9 15.5 62.7 15.5
5.2 0.0 63.1 36.4 8.9 12.0 48.5 36.6 9.3 35.8 32.6 7.5 63.6 0.0 28.2 53.7 53.0 0.0 12.3 15.1 69.2 37.0 26.3 63.8 29.0 35.7 0.0 35.8 12.4 57.5 34.1 54.5 48.5 14.9 54.6 36.2 29.4
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COUNTY
ECHOLS EFFINGHAM ELBERT EMANUEL EVANS FANNIN FAYETTE FLOYD FORSYTH FRANKLIN FULTON GILMER GLASCOCK GLYNN GORDON GRADY GREENE GWINNETT HABERSHAM HALL HANCOCK HARALSON HARRIS HART HEARD HENRY HOUSTON IRWIN JACKSON JASPER JEFF DAVIS JEFFERSON JENKINS JOHNSON JONES LAMAR LANIER LAURENS LEE LIBERTY LINCOLN LONG LOWNDES LUMPKIN MACON MADISON MARION MCDUFFIE MCINTOSH MERIWETHER MILLER MITCHELL MONROE MONTGOMERY MORGAN MURRAY
GENERAL DENTISTRY
0 12
4 6 3 7 76 25 68 5 606 11 1 41 13 5 12 373 15 76 1 7 7 7 0 70 40 0 23 2 1 4 1 2 5 2 1 16 8 18 3 0 38 8 3 1 0 9 3 4 1 4 5
8 3
OTHER
PRACTICE
TYPE
0 2 2 0 1 0 35 14 26 0 281 2 0 10 1 1 5 143 5 28 0 0 0 0 0 23 15 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 5 0 0 12 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
TOTAL
DENTISTS
0 14
6 6 4 7 111 39 94 5 887 13 1 51 14 6 17 516 20 104 1 7 7 7 0 93 55 0 30 2 1 4 1 2 5 2 1 19 8 23 3 0 50 10 4 4 0 9 3 5 1 4 5 1 9 3
POPULATION
(2019)
4,006 64,296 19,194 22,646 10,654 26,188 114,421 98,498 244,252 23,349 1,063,937 31,369
2,971 85,292 57,963 24,633 18,324 936,250 45,328 204,441
8,457 29,792 35,236 26,205 11,923 234,561 157,863
9,416 72,977 14,219 15,115 15,362
8,676 9,643 28,735 19,077 10,423 47,546 29,992 61,435 7,921 19,559 117,406 33,610 12,947 29,880 8,359 21,312 14,378 21,167 5,718 21,863 27,578 9,172 19,276 40,096
RATE
PER
100,000
0.0 21.8 31.3 26.5 37.5 26.7 97.0 39.6 38.5 21.4 83.4 41.4 33.7 59.8 24.2 24.4 92.8 55.1 44.1 50.9 11.8 23.5 19.9 26.7
0.0 39.6 34.8
0.0 41.1 14.1
6.6 26.0 11.5 20.7 17.4 10.5
9.6 40.0 26.7 37.4 37.9
0.0 42.6 29.8 30.9 13.4
0.0 42.2 20.9 23.6 17.5 18.3 18.1 10.9 46.7
7.5
9
COUNTY
MUSCOGEE NEWTON OCONEE OGLETHORPE PAULDING PEACH PICKENS PIERCE PIKE POLK PULASKI PUTNAM QUITMAN RABUN RANDOLPH RICHMOND ROCKDALE SCHLEY SCREVEN SEMINOLE SPALDING STEPHENS STEWART SUMTER TALBOT TALIAFERRO TATTNALL TAYLOR TELFAIR TERRELL THOMAS TIFT TOOMBS TOWNS TREUTLEN TROUP TURNER TWIGGS UNION UPSON WALKER WALTON WARE WARREN WASHINGTON WAYNE WEBSTER WHEELER WHITE WHITFIELD WILCOX WILKES WILKINSON WORTH
GENERAL
DENTISTRY
79 16 20
0 30 13
9 4 3 7 1 4 0 8 1 103 47 0 3 4 17 9 4 11 0 0 6 1 2 1 15 10 12 4 1 29 5 0 7 5 9 35 15 0 4 4 0 0 7 32 2 2 1 2
OTHER
PRACTICE
TYPE
35 3 8 0 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
68 23
0 0 0 6 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 3 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 6 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0
TOTAL
DENTISTS
114 19 28 0 35 13 10 4 3 8 1 5 0 8 2
171 70 0 3 4 23 12 4 12 0 0 7 1 2 1 21 13 14 4 1 35 5 0 7 6 9 41 18 0 5 5 0 0 7 43 2 2 1 2
POPULATION
(2019)
195,769 111,744
40,280 15,259 168,667 27,546 32,591 19,465 18,962 42,613 11,137 22,119
2,299 17,137
6,778 202,518
90,896 5,257
13,966 8,090
66,703 25,925
6,621 29,524
6,195 1,537 25,286 8,020 15,860 8,531 44,451 40,644 26,830 12,037 6,901 69,922 7,985 8,120 24,511 26,320 69,761 94,593 35,734 5,254 20,374 29,927 2,607 7,855 30,798 104,628 8,635 9,777 8,954 20,247
RATE
PER
100,000
58.2 17.0 69.5
0.0 20.8 47.2 30.7 20.5 15.8 18.8
9.0 22.6
0.0 46.7 29.5 84.4 77.0
0.0 21.5 49.4 34.5 46.3 60.4 40.6
0.0 0.0 27.7 12.5 12.6 11.7 47.2 32.0 52.2 33.2 14.5 50.1 62.6 0.0 28.6 22.8 12.9 43.3 50.4 0.0 24.5 16.7 0.0 0.0 22.7 41.1 23.2 20.5 11.2 9.9
10
Counties with no Dentists, 2019
Note: the number of dentists is listed below each county name
Dade 2
Catoosa 22
Murray
Fannin 7
Towns Union 4
Rabun 8
Walker Whitfield 3
9
43
Chattooga Gordon
Gilmer 13
Pickens
7
White Haber-
Lumpkin 10
7
sham
20
Stephens 12
7
Floyd 39
14
Bartow 37
10
Dawson
15
Cherokee Forsyth
139
94
Hall 104
Franklin Banks 5
Hart 7
Jackson Madison Elbert
Polk 8
Cobb Paulding 526
30
4
6
Gwinnett Barrow Clarke
516
19
68 Oglethorpe
Haralson 7
Carroll 43
35
Oco-
CDoowu5eg3tlaasFa1yF1e8u1Ct8ltt7oela3ny6tDone4HK14e9anl3bryRdo7ac0lek-Ne1wW9tJo4aanl1tsopneMr or9gPaun2net8neamGr1e7ene
Wilkes Lincoln
2
3
Taliaferro
Mc- Columbia
W arrenDuffie 9
100 Richmond
Heard
53
Spalding Butts 2
23
3
5
Hancock
Glas-
1
cock
171
Troup 35
Meriwether Pike Lamar
5
3
2 Monroe
5
Upson
Baldwin Jones 18
5
1
Jefferson Washington 4
5
Burke 2
Harris 7
Muscogee 114
Chattahoochee
6 Talbot
Bibb
W ilkinson
Crawford 96 Twiggs 1
Taylor 1
Peach 13
Marion
Macon
Houston Bleckley
55
2
Schley
4
Pulaski
Laurens 19
Johnson 2
Jenkins 1
Emanuel 6
Screven 3
Treutlen 1
Mont-
Candler Bulloch Effingham
1
29
14
Stewart
4
W eb-
ster
Sumter 12
Quit-
man
Terrell Lee
Randolph 1
8
2
Clay Calhoun Dougherty
3
48
Early
Dooly 2
Crisp 8
1
W ilcox 2
Dodge 10
gomery
Evans
Wheeler 1 Toombs
4
14 Tattnall
Telfair
7
2
Jeff
Ben Hill
Davis Appling
Long
Turner 5
Worth Tift
2
13
7 Irwin
Coffee 16
1
2
Bacon 2
W ayne 5
Pierce
Bryan 25
Liberty 23
Chatham 184
McIntosh 3
3
Miller 1
Baker Mitchell 4
Colquitt 12
Berrien Atkinson Cook 3
5 Lanier
W are 18
4 Brantley 1
Glynn 51
Semi-
nole Decatur
4
9
Grady Thomas
6
21
Brooks
1 Lowndes
Clinch 1
Charlton 1
Camden 20
50
Echols
In the 2017 Dentist Workforce Report, twenty-three counties had no dentists practicing there. This year, twenty-one counties have no dentists practicing there. Since 2017, six counties have gained a dentist: Hancock, Jenkins, Pulaski, Montgomery, Crawford, and Randolph. However, three counties have lost a dentist since 2017: Wheeler, Talbot, and Irwin.
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Concentration of Dentists, Rate of Dentists per 100,000
2019
Note: the number of dentists is listed below each county name
Dade 2
Catoosa 22
Murray
Fannin 7
Towns Union 4
Rabun 8
Walker Whitfield 3
9
43
Chattooga Gordon
Gilmer 13
Pickens
7
White Haber-
Lumpkin 10
7
sham
20
Stephens 12
7
Floyd 39
14
Bartow 37
10
Dawson
15
Cherokee Forsyth
139
94
Hall 104
Franklin Banks 5
Hart 7
Jackson Madison Elbert
RATE PER 100,000
0 1-19 20-39 40-59
NUMBER OF COUNTIES
21 39 55 31
Polk 8
Cobb Paulding 526
30
4
6
Gwinnett Barrow Clarke
516
19
68 Oglethorpe
> 60
13
Haralson 7
Carroll 43
35
Oco-
CDoowu5eg3tlaasFa1yF1e8u1Ct8ltt7oela3ny6tDone4HK14e9anl3bryRdo7ac0lek-Ne1wW9tJo4aanl1tsopneMr or9gPaun2net8neamGr1e7ene
Wilkes Lincoln
2
3
TaliafeWrroarrenDMu9fcf-ieCol1u0mR0ibcihamond
Heard
53
Spalding Butts 2
23
3
5
Hancock
Glas-
1
cock
171
Troup 35
Meriwether Pike Lamar
5
3
2 Monroe
5
Upson
Baldwin Jones 18
5
1
Jefferson Washington 4
5
Burke 2
Harris 7
Muscogee 114
Chattahoochee
6
Bibb
W ilkinson
Jenkins
Talbot
Crawford 96 Twiggs 1
Taylor 1
Peach 13
Johnson
1
2
Emanuel
6
Screven 3
Marion
Houston Bleckley
Macon
55
2
Laurens 19
Treutlen 1
Candler Bulloch Effingham
1
29
14
Schley
4
Pulaski
Mont-
Stewart
4
W eb-
ster
Sumter 12
Quit-
man
Terrell Lee
Randolph 2
1
8
Clay Calhoun Dougherty
3
48
Early
Dooly 2
Crisp 8
1
W ilcox 2
Dodge 10
gomery
Evans
Wheeler 1 Toombs
4
14 Tattnall
Telfair
7
2
Jeff
Turner
Ben Hill 7
Davis Appling
1
2
Long
5
W orth 2
Tift 13
Irwin
Coffee 16
Bacon 2
W ayne 5
Pierce
Bryan 25
Liberty 23
Chatham 184
McIntosh 3
3
Miller 1
Baker Mitchell 4
Colquitt 12
Berrien Atkinson Cook 3
5 Lanier
W are 18
4 Brantley 1
Glynn 51
Semi-
nole Decatur
4
9
Grady Thomas
6
21
Brooks
1 Lowndes
Clinch 1
Charlton 1
Camden 20
50
Echols
12
Acknowledgements
This report was produced under the direction of LaSharn Hughes, MBA, Executive Director; Leanna Greenwood, MA, Senior Data Analyst; G.E.Alan Dever, MD, PhD; and Jocelyn Hart, Data Analyst. The Board would like to thank the Georgia Board of Dentistry for providing dentist renewal survey data. The Dentist Workforce Report can be viewed and downloaded on the internet at https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/dentistry-workforce-reports. The Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce welcomes comments and suggestions for future editions of this report. Please send comments to leanna.greenwood@dch.ga.gov. Please follow us on Twitter: @GABoardHCW
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