gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: Studies have shown that dental health services significantly contribute to preventive health care, influencing not only oral health but also impacting systemic health conditions [1], [2]. The accessibility of dental care services plays a pivotal role in shaping oral health outcomes across populations. Dental health services are a cornerstone of preventive health care, influencing not only oral health but also overall well-being. However, geographical disparities in the distribution of dental care providers create uneven landscapes of health equity. Urban areas tend to benefit from a higher concentration of health services, while rural and underserved urban areas may experience a dearth of available care [3]. Additionally, regarding the scale of geographic units, there are more possibilities to use small-scale data in health care research in the recent decade. Traditional methods like population to provider ratios in a specific administrative area fail to show usable results as some units at a smaller scale may not have a dental practice and appear as underserved in small-scale analysis.

Methodology: The study employs the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) method to assess spatial accessibility to dental healthcare in Germany. It is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of spatial accessibility, which is characterized by four key components: availability, proximity, capacity, and affordability. The application of the 3SFCA method at the ZIP code level allows for a nuanced examination of the balance between service provision and community needs, aiming to uncover micro-regional disparities in dental care accessibility. The computational approach integrates three core datasets: population distribution, facility capacities, and a geospatial interaction matrix representing travel times between population centroids and facility locations. The study preprocesses the data to construct relational matrices, ensuring uniform formatting of population and facility identifiers for subsequent analyses.

Results and discussion: The application of the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) method revealed significant spatial disparities in dental care accessibility across Germany. The analysis identified areas with limited availability of dental care providers, particularly in rural areas. The study found that many urban areas tend to benefit from a higher concentration of dental care services, while some rural regions face a scarcity of such facilities, contributing to a healthcare access divide. The study's exploration of various scenarios to adjust the number of dentists based on different factors provided insights into the potential impact of policy interventions and resource allocation strategies. The results highlighted the importance of considering the unique characteristics and needs of small communities in addressing disparities in dental care access.

Conclusion: The granular approach employed in this study is anticipated to offer actionable insights for healthcare policymakers and planners, enabling targeted interventions to enhance access to dental care in underserved communities. By focusing on ZIP-code level disparities, this research contributes to a more equitable distribution of dental health resources at local level. By adopting a localized analytical lens, the study aims to offer more nuanced insights into the complex dynamics of dental care access and inform targeted, data-driven public health interventions that consider the unique characteristics and needs of small communities.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

The authors declare that an ethics committee vote is not required.