Health Workforce

Minnesota Dentists Facts and Data 2004

The Office of Rural Health & Primary Care asks dentists to answer questions about their employment status and the nature of their practices each year when they renew their licenses. Response to the survey is voluntary and does not affect license renewal.

NOTE: In the tables below, “urban” is defined to include seven Twin City metropolitan counties (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington) and the cities of Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud.

• Number of Dentists

In January 2005, there were 3,296 dentists with Minnesota licenses. Some of these were retired or not working as dentists, and many lived or practiced in other states. The Board of Dentistry received an estimated 3,683 license renewals due January 1, 2004.

The Office of Rural Health & Primary Care received survey responses from 2,333 dentists during 2004. At the time of license renewal, 1,872 of these said they worked at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota.

The exact number of dentists actually practicing in Minnesota is not known. Survey respondents represented 63 percent of all dentists renewing licenses in 2004. If active Minnesota-based dentists responded to the survey at about the same rate as all dentists renewing their licenses, the estimated total number of dentists working at least part time in Minnesota would be about 2,970. If active Minnesota dentists were more likely to respond to the survey, the estimated number of active Minnesota dentists would be somewhat lower. Using the July 1, 2004, population estimate for Minnesota, 2,970 dentists equate to 58 active dentists per 100,000 people.

Because of different data sources and definitions, this estimate of 58 active dentists is not directly comparable to other reported data. The Bureau of Health Professions in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration reported that Minnesota had 3,522 practicing dentists in 2000, or 71 dentists per 100,000 people, exceeding the national number of 64. This federal data appears to include licensed dentists practicing in states other than the state in which licensed.

All data reported below is for dentists who work at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota, according to the Office of Rural Health & Primary Care survey of dentists renewing licenses for 2004.

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• Geographic distribution of primary practice site

Practice Sites by County

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• Age and gender of dentists in Minnesota

Age	N	Male	Female
All dentists	1,872	81.1%	18.9%
Under 35	264	63.6%	36.4%
35-44	377	62.6%	37.4%
45-54	653	84.1%	15.9%
55-64	432	97.5%	2.6%
65 and older	146	98.6%	1.4%
Urban locations	1,287	78.8%	21.2%
Rural locations	585	86.2%	13.8%

• Age of dentists active in Minnesota, by location, 2004

Age	Statewide n=1,872	Urban n=1,287	Rural n=585
Less than 35	14.1%	15.2%	11.6%
35-44	20.1%	20.9%	18.5%
45-54	34.9%	34.8%	35.0%
55-64	23.1%	21.1%	27.4%
65 and older	7.8%	7.9%	7.5%
Total	100%	100%	100%

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• Dentist Specialties

Twenty percent of respondents reported training or board certification in a specialty area:

Orthodontics 6 percent
Oral and maxillofacial surgery 4 percent
Endodontics 2 percent
Pediatric dentistry 2 percent
Periodontics 2 percent
Other specialties 4 percent

Eighty-four percent of specialists were male.

Eighty-five percent of specialists had primary practices in urban areas.

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• Dentists active in Minnesota, primary practice settings by location

Practice Setting	All Dentists	Urban	Rural
N=respondents	1,872	1,287	585
Solo private	46.1%	40.9%	57.4%
Group private	43.5%	46.5%	36.9%
Educational	3.7%	5.1%	.5%
Clinic (non staff HMO)	.6%	.6%	.5%
Hospital (acute care)	.6%	.9%	-0-
Institutional	1.3%	1.4%	1.2%
Public health facility	.9%	.9%	1.0%
Staff model HMO	1.1%	1.6%	-0-
Other	2.1%	2.0%	2.4%

• Gender of dentists active in Minnesota, by practice settings

Practice Setting	N	Male	Female
All sites	1,872	1,518	354
Solo private	863	87.7%	12.3%
Group private	815	75.5%	24.5%
Educational	69	84.1%	15.9%
Clinic (non staff HMO)	11	72.7%	27.3%
Hospital (acute care)	11	72.7%	27.3%
Institutional	25	84.0%	16.0%
Public health facility	17	35.3%	64.7%
Staff model HMO	21	81.0%	19.0%
Other	40	70.0%	30.0%