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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Oral health

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2024

  • Trends in the Health Workforce Supply in the Rural U.S.
    Report
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2024
    This report examines the availability of current and historical workforce data for a variety of health care professionals and provides estimates of the trends in the supply and distribution in the rural vs. urban U.S. workforce.

2015

  • Dentist Supply, Dental Care Utilization, and Oral Health Among Rural and Urban U.S. Residents
    Report
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2015
    Residents of non-metropolitan counties were less likely than those in metropolitan counties to report having dental visits or teeth cleanings in the last year and more likely to report undergoing tooth extractions. These findings persisted even when controlling for demographic factors, income, insurance, and health/smoking status.

2011

2010

2009

  • The Crisis in Rural Dentistry
    Policy Brief
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 04/2009
    Reports from the surgeon general and the Institute of Medicine call for more dentists in rural locations. Federal and state programs have focused on expanding the rural dentist supply, but efforts may need to intensify to meet the needs of rural communities.

2006

  • Rural Dental Practice: A Tale of Four States (Full Report)
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2006
    This paper reports the findings of a study investigating rural dentist issues, such as demography, training, practice characteristics, staff, and job satisfaction, in Alabama, California, Maine, and Missouri.
  • Rural Dental Practice: A Tale of Four States (Project Summary)
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2006
    This project summary provides an overview of survey results of rural dentists in Alabama, California, Maine, and Missouri. It provides charts and statistics on dentist demographics, dental hygienist and dental assistant vacancy rates, and dentist participation in Medicaid.
  • The Effect of Rural Residence On Dental Unmet Need for Children With Special Health Care Needs
    Journal Article
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 2006
    Unmet need for dental care is the most prevalent unmet healthcare need among children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN). The combination of rural residence and special healthcare needs may leave rural CSHCN particularly vulnerable to high levels of unmet dental needs.

2005

  • Dentist Vacancies in Federally Funded Health Centers
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2005
    This project summary presents results for dentists from a study of staffing needs at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). It provides information on dentist vacancy rates by rural and urban location and compares dentist vacancies to other healthcare provider vacancies at FQHCs.