Guest Column
UCLA Study Finds Severe Shortage of Latino Dentists
- The shortfall means fewer dentists to serve a growing,
Spanish-speaking population
FINDINGS: A study from UCLA's Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture finds that the number of Latinos who graduated from dental schools, and hence able to acquire licenses to practice dentistry in California, fell by nearly 80 percent between 1982 and 1999 from 74 to 15 percent, even as the state's Latino population increased by 42.7 percent (7.7 million to 10 million) during that time.
IMPACT: Latino dentists are likely to both speak Spanish
and English, and to practice in areas with heavy Latino populations. As a
result, there will be fewer dentists to serve this population. Also, the
shortfall during that period was so large that a dramatic increase would not
make up the difference today.
AUTHORS: David Hayes-Bautista, Mariam Iya Kahramanian, Erin
G. Richardson, Paul Hsu, Lucette Sosa, Cristina Gamboa, and Robert Stein,
all of UCLA.
JOURNAL: Journal of Dental Education, February issue.
FUNDERS: Research was funded by UCLA's Center for the Study
of Latino Health and Culture. - ________________________________________
- From: "Rivero, Enrique"
ERivero@mednet.ucla.edu
Subject: UCLA Study Finds Severe Shortage of Latino Dentists
I thought you'd be interested in this study finding that there is a severe shortage of dentists to serve Spanish speaking communities in California. Though the study examined the decline in the number of Latino dental school graduates between 1982 to 1999, the researchers found that the effects of this drop linger to this day. I would be happy to put you in touch with Professor David Hayes-Bautista, director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture and lead author of this study, or one of the other researchers. I can also send you a copy of the study.
Thanks,
Enrique Rivero
Senior Media Relations Officer
UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations
924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 350
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7103
Phone: (310) 794-2273; (310) 794-0777
Fax: (310) 794-2259
E-mail: erivero@mednet.ucla.edu
Journalists - need expert commentary? UCLA's Health Sciences Media Relations can tap into a wide variety of informed medical and research experts who can provide commentary for your story. For more information, visit http://www.healthcare.ucla.edu/shared/pressroom/contact-info, or call 310-794-0777.
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