A systematic review from King’s College London sets out to explore the geographic barriers to dental care and makes dental access recommendations for health policy.

Inequitable distribution of the dental workforce is a major global challenge, regardless of country income status. Indeed, England is facing a crisis in access to National Health Service (NHS) dental care, with certain areas of the country designated as “dental deserts.”

In a recently published review in the British Dental Journal, the research team from the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King’s analyzed 37 papers from 26 countries that explore barriers to dental care.

Through this, 14 types of interventions across four categories were identified. Focusing on workforce initiatives (dental team skill mix and non-dental personnel, recruitment and retention strategies), outreach (teledentistry; mobile, outreach and school-based services; new community clinics), in-reach (dental school clinics) and auxiliary access initiatives (local community engagement, affordability of care, cost-effectiveness and clinician remuneration), all interventions appeared to provide access to care.

The available evidence highlights the importance of a multi-dimensional health-system approach. While the volume of evidence in the field is limited, all identified initiatives demonstrate positive impacts on access to dental care. Published evidence, mainly from high- and middle-income countries, supports the co-design and co-production of initiatives with local communities to facilitate sustainable improvements in dental access.