Income and expenditure in private dental clinics in Japan

SummaryAlthough national dental care expenditure has not changed, the number of dental clinics has increased. Mass media has been reporting on the financial difficulties of dental clinics. To address this issue, we reviewed articles that showed the distribution and changes in net income, that is, total expenses subtracted from total income, of private dental clinics in Japan using data from a survey conducted by the Japan Dental Association. We also reviewed articles analyzing the factors relating to the net income. The results of the articles showed that distribution of net income has become positively skewed, with the mean dragged to the right by a few high scores. This means that the median is more appropriate than the mean as a measure of central tendency of net income. Factors relating to net income of private dental clinics have changed: private dental clinics that were opened after 1989 (new) and had dental hygienists, who may conduct dental maintenance, had high net income, suggesting that they are well-managed or having a different type of patient mix in recent years. These analyses provide important and useful information for not only better management of private dental clinics but also policy-making in dental health care.