Distributions of dental freshmen enrolled by northern, central, and southern dental schools in each city or county and different regions of Taiwan in 2020

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: In Taiwan, the uneven distribution and the urban-rural gap of dentists are long-standing problems. Thus, the regional balance of domestic dental schools and their students are very important for the further distribution of practicing dentists. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the distributions of dental freshmen enrolled by dental schools of general universities in each city or county and different regions of Taiwan in 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study mainly collected the number of dental freshmen enrolled by the northern, central, and southern dental schools and further evaluated their distributions in each city or county and different regions of Taiwan in 2020. RESULTS: The distribution of dental freshmen in Taiwan in 2020 did have a regional imbalance. These dental freshmen were mainly concentrated in municipalities, cities with dental schools, and the northern region of Taiwan. The enrolled dental freshmen tended to choose a dental school which was in the same location as they grew up. We also found that the dental freshmen enrolled by the northern, central, and southern dental schools mostly came from the northern, the northern, and the southern regions of Taiwan, respectively. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the dental freshmen are mainly concentrated in municipalities, cities with dental schools, and the northern region of Taiwan. Moreover, the dental freshmen enrolled by the northern or central dental schools mostly come from the northern region of Taiwan and those enrolled by the southern dental schools majorly come from the southern region of Taiwan.