Report warns of oversupply of dentists

About 1000 dentists will be struggling to find employment by 2020, according to a report which looks at the demand for dental services.

Commissioned by the Australian Dental Association, the report says that this figure represents the number of dentists graduating between one and two years. The report warns that this estimate could be conservative.

It adds that although the oversupply of dentists might push dental fees down, it will impose a major cost on the community, which has funded expensive dental education, and may deter people from entering the profession.

Prepared by Insight Economics, the projections for 2020 are based on Australian data, interviews with Australian dentists and dental school academics, and overseas studies, especially from the US. This document builds on two previous reports written for ADA.

The emerging surplus of dentists has coincided with the ending of the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme in late 2012, and household savings patterns dampening consumption, which impacts on people not going to the dentist as frequently.

Insight Economics concludes that to restore employment balance, either funding for public dental schemes need to be increased or private demand needs to increase, however they note that “neither of these possibilities look likely to happen in the medium term”.