title: Dentist supply and children's oral health in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the relationship between dentist supply and children's oral health and explored heterogeneity by children's age and urbanicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We obtained data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (>27,000 children aged 1-10 years; >23,000 children aged 11-17 years). We estimated the association between state-level dentist supply and multiple measures of children's oral health using regression analysis adjusting for several child, family, and population-level characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dentist supply was significantly related to better oral health outcomes among children aged 1 to 10 years. The odds of decay and bleeding gums were lower by more than 50% (odds ratio [OR]=0.46; 95% CI=0.23, 0.95) and 80% (OR=0.18; 95% CI=0.05, 0.76), respectively, with an additional dentist per 1000 population. The odds of a worse maternal rating of child's dental health on a 5-category scale from poor to excellent were lower by about 50% in this age group with an additional dentist per 1000 population (OR=0.51; 95% CI=0.29, 0.91). We observed associations only for children in urban settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dentist supply is associated with improved oral health for younger children in urban settings.
authors.affiliation: Carol C. Guarnizo-Herreño is with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK, and the Departamento de Salud Colectiva, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia. George L. Wehby is with the Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, and the National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.
authors.forename: Carol C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Guarnizo-Herreño
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Wehby
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D003815:Dentists / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States