Dentist education and labour market in Mexico:elements for policy definition

Here, the educational and labour market characteristics of Mexican dentists are revised.Dentistry is a health profession that has been scarcely studied in developing countries. Thisanalysis attempts to understand the relationships and gaps between the supply and demand ofdentists in the country.

Around 5000 new dentists graduate every year looking for a placeinthe labour market.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with exploratory, descriptive and correlational scope was carried outbetween 2006 and 2008.Analyses of quantitative data on dentists from national surveys andoccupational statistics were complemented with qualitative information provided by 43 keyinformants in five Mexican states.

Results: The 2008 dentist labour market can be characterized as follows: 75% worked in the privatesector, most of them independently; more than two-thirdswere women; the proportion ofspecialists was low (slightly more than 10%); unemployment wasmore than 20% and labourwastagewasnearly 40%, with most wastage corresponding withfemale dentists. The increasein the number of dentists entering the labour market during the last two decades is morerelated to the educational market than to the population'shealth needs and the number ofdentists actually required to meet them.

Conclusions: The problems identified in the Mexican dentist labour market necessitate urgent interventionon behalf of regulatory bodiesin order to balance the tendencies of supply and demand in thenumber of trained professionals as well as in their incorporation into different market areas.Adequate policiesare required to increase the likelihood of achieving this objective.

Author: Luz Maria González-RobledoMaria Cecilia González-RobledoGustavo Nigenda
Credits/Source: Human Resources for Health 2012, 10:31

Published on: 2012-09-13

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