Analysis of the demographic characteristics of pediatric dental practice sites.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to: (1) investigate the demographic characteristics of pediatric dental practice sites in the United States; and (2) develop a model that identifies practice site characteristics commonly associated with pediatric dental practices.

Methods: Demographic data and pediatric dental practices were organized by zip codes and analyzed using discriminant analysis. The demographic characteristics associated with zip codes that contained a pediatric dental practice were determined.

Results: The resulting model correctly classified 92% of the 30,134 zip code areas, based upon the presence or absence of a pediatric dental practice. The variables most closely associated with a zip code containing a pediatric dental practice included: (1) number of dental practices (general practice); (2) percent of the adult population with a college degree; and (3) population size.

Conclusions: Demographic characteristics are predictive of sites with or without a pediatric dental practice. Zip codes with large, urban populations that have positive socioeconomic characteristics, such as high income and education levels, are the most likely to have a pediatric dental practice. There are a significant number of zip codes in the United States (1,712) that have the demographic characteristics associated with a pediatric dental practice site but do not have a pediatric dentist in them.