The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dentist manpower in Taiwan

Feng-Chou Cheng; Ling-Hsia Wang; Julia Yu-Fong Chang; Tzu-Chiang Lin; Tsui-Hua Liu; Po-Fang Tsai; Yung-Ta Chang; Chun-Pin Chiang

Journal of Dental Sciences (Oct 2021)

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dentist manpower in Taiwan

Feng-Chou Cheng,
Ling-Hsia Wang,
Julia Yu-Fong Chang,
Tzu-Chiang Lin,
Tsui-Hua Liu,
Po-Fang Tsai,
Yung-Ta Chang,
Chun-Pin Chiang

Affiliations

Feng-Chou Cheng: School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Ling-Hsia Wang: Center for the Literature and Art, Hsin Sheng Junior College of Medical Care and Management, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Julia Yu-Fong Chang: Department of Dentistry, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Tzu-Chiang Lin: Center for the Liberal Arts, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Tsui-Hua Liu: School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Po-Fang Tsai: Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Yung-Ta Chang: School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan; Corresponding author. School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 88, Sec. 4, Ting-Chou Road, Taipei 11677, Taiwan.
Chun-Pin Chiang: Department of Dentistry, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Dentistry, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien, Taiwan; Corresponding author. Department of Dentistry, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Section 3, Chung-Yang Road, Hualien 970, Taiwan.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 16, no. 4
pp. 1204 – 1213

Abstract

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Background/purpose: The dentists are the high-risk group of infectious respiratory diseases during dental treatment. This study investigated the changes of the numbers of overall practicing dentists, dental clinics, and hospital dentists in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: We collected the data of the numbers of overall practicing dentists, dental clinics, and hospital dentists in each city and county of Taiwan in October 2019, April 2020, and October 2020 for evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dentist manpower in Taiwan. Results: After the COVID-19 outbreak, the total increased numbers of practicing dentists, dental clinics, and hospital dentists in Taiwan were 408, 14, and −16 from October 2019 to October 2020, respectively. In addition, their increased rates of the corresponding items were 2.76%, 0.21%, and −0.72%, respectively. The increased rate of practicing dentists from October 2019 to April 2020 was significantly higher than that of dental clinics (P < 0.001) and that of hospital dentists (P < 0.001). Moreover, the increased rate of practicing dentists from October 2019 to October 2020 was significantly higher than that of dental clinics (P < 0.01). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased number of practicing dentists is not different from that in the past, but the increased numbers and rates of dental clinics and hospital dentists are lower than those in the past. This indicates that the willingness of dentists to open new dental clinics or work in hospitals reduces due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published in Journal of Dental Sciences

ISSN: 1991-7902 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Taiwan, Province of China
LCC subjects: Medicine: Dentistry
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-dental-sciences/

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