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General dentists staffing requirement based on workload in the public dental health centers in Turkey

ABSTRACT Background The Turkish healthcare system struggle with absolute shortages and imbalanced distribution of healthcare personnel. The present study aimed to measure the gap between the actual number of dentists and the ideal dentist staffing complement and evaluate the distribution of dentists among six public oral and dental health centers. Methods The workload indicators of staffing need method, developed by the World Health Organization, was used to determine the staffing requirement in these centers. Face-to-face interviews were held with 109 dentists agreeing to participate in the study. Results The results revealed the total number of actively serving dentists to be 145, the staffing requirement to be 154, and the workload to be 0.94. The actual number of dentists, therefore, needs to be increased by 6%. The most significant activities generating the workload among dentists and increasing staffing requirement were permanent tooth extraction, two-sided amalgam bonding, and fixed dental prosthesis. The number of dentists required for preventive oral health services was found to be only 4.98. Conclusion It was found high dental workload and imbalanced distribution of the participating dentists. Workload-based human resources planning may increase efficiency, effectiveness, and equality in healthcare services.