The finance and manpower of oral health care system in Korea and comparison with six selected countries / 대한구강보건학회지

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#The purpose of this study is to investigate the financial and manpower indicators of the oral health care system in Korea and to compare them with six selected countries — the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, and Sweden. @*Methods@#It used the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) statistics website and official data sources of the Korean government. @*Results@#In Korea, total oral health care expenditure (TOHCE) per capita was US $ 208, the TOHCE as a share of GDP was 0.5%, the TOHCE as a percentage of total health care spending (THCE) was 6.2%, and the percentage of out-of-pocket payments of TOHCE was 58.8% in 2019. The number of practising dentists per 1,000 population was 0.50 in 2018, and the average annual growth rate since 2000 was 3.3%. Dental specialists as a percentage of practising dentists increased from 0.4% in 2009 to 21.8% in 2020, and the allied dental personnel-to-dentist ratio in dental hospitals and clinics rose from 1.95 in 2013 to 2.34 in 2019. In addition, in 2019, the number of dentists and dental hygienists working in health care institutions or health centers differed distinctly by area;public health dentists accounted for 88% of dentists working at health centers and multiple general dentists were secured in five metropolitans/provinces. @*Conclusions@#In the 21st century, the financial and manpower indicators of oral health care in Korea rose significantly, comparable to the six selected countries, although quality limitations remain. In the future, it is expected that these policies in Korea will be enhanced based on the indicators identified in this study.