Dental Statistics

• Dental Health Services in Canada in 2007 (PDF 12 KB) - Most recent figures on numbers of dentists, numbers of dental schools, regional distribution, changes in services and related matters.

• Approximately 64 percent of Canadians aged 12 and over visited a dental office in 2005.
  Statistics Canada, Community Health Survey, 2005
  
  
• Fifty percent of Canadians visit their dentists once or more every six months.
  Canadian Dental Association, Pollara Public Survey, January 2005.
  
  
• The lifetime probability of developing oral cancer is 1 in 105.
  Canadian Cancer Statistics 2004, National Cancer Institute of Canada.
  
  
• Nine percent of Canadians aged 15 and over have no natural teeth.
  Community Health Survey, 2003.
  
  
• Mean blood concentration of mercury in Canadians in 2008: 0.76 mg/L
  Lead, mercury and cadmium levels in Canadians, Health Canada November 2008
  
  
• Canadians aged 20 to 79 that have total blood mercury levels above the Health Canada guidance value of 20 mg/L for general adult population: Less than 1%
  Source: Lead, mercury and cadmium levels in Canadians, health Canada November 2008
  
  
• Estimated expenditures on dental services as a proportion of total health expenditures in 2007 was 7.1 percent.
  National Health Expenditure Trends, Canadian Institute of Health Information, 2008.
  
  
• Percentage of all private spending on dental care in 2006 that was from insurance sources: 55%
  Canadian Institute of Health Information, 2006.
  
  
• Dentists per 100,000 people in Canada (as of July 1, 2007): 57.2
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Most Canadians (70%) floss their teeth but only half of those do so daily.      
  Canadian Dental Association, Pollara Public Survey, January 2005.
  
  
• In 2007, 75 percent of all practicing dentists in Canada are male.
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• There are 10 dental schools in Canada.
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average age of a Canadian dentist in 2005: 46
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Number of licensed dentists in Canada in 2008: 19,124
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Proportion of Canadians that report a toothache once/month : 9%
  Locker D & Matear D. Oral disorders, systemic health, well-being and the quality of life: A summary of recent evidence." University of Toronto, 2001.
  
  
• Percent of dentists who place and remove restorations as a routine part of practice in 2007: 87.2%
  Watson et al. 2007
  
  
• Number of hours per week in practice for the average dentist in 2006: 32.5
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Number of patients seen in a week by the average dentist in 2006: 65
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Total expenditures for dental services in 2007: $11,343 billion
  Canadian Institute for Health Information
  
  
• Percent of Canadian dentists in 2008 in practice that have graduated from a foreign school: 13.5%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Percent of dentists in 2008 that were aged 65 and over: 7.7%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Percent of dentists in 2008 that were under 40 years of age: 35.1%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average population to dentist ratio in Canada in 2007: 1671
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average number of dental hygienists in a practice in Canada in 2005: 1.9
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average total expenditures by households in Canada in 2007: $69,946
  Source: Spending Patterns in Canada, 2007. Statistics Canada.
  
  
• Percent of dental practices in Canada with 2 dentists in 2006: 24.1%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average rural population to rural dentist ratio in Canada in 2007: 5947
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Total number of dental school graduates in 2008: 537
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Percent of female dental graduates in 2008: 54.8%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Consumer Price Index for dental care in Canada in 2007: 119.2
  Consumer Price Index; Statistics Canada.
  
  
• The number of students in Canadian dental schools (for all years) in the 2006-2007 school year was 1964.
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• There were 456 graduates from all dental schools in Canada in 2007.
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Approximately 58% of the student body in 2008 was female.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• In January 2009, there were 19,336 licensed dentists in Canada.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• In 2009, the proportion of male dentists in Canada was 75%.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• In June 2008, there were 57.3 dentists per 100,000 people in Canada.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• There were 2133 dental specialists in 2008, or roughly 6.4 dental specialists per 100,000 people.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• The median after-tax income of Canadian families in 2006: $58,300..
  Statistics Canada
  
  
• The median RRSP contribution in Canada in 2007 : $2,780.
  Statistics Canada
  
  
• The proportion of the average household’s budget in 2007 that was spent on taxes (including federal and provincial income and payroll taxes as well as other provincial taxes, such as the land transfer tax, but not the Goods and Services Tax [GST]) : 21%
  Statistics Canada
  
  
• The median amount of federal and provincial income taxes paid by families in Canada in 2006: $9000.
  Statistics Canada
  
  
• Proportion of Canadian that have problems chewing: 13%
  Locker D & Matear D. Oral disorders, systemic health, well-being and the quality of life: A summary of recent evidence." University of Toronto, 2001.
  
  
• Percentage of population in Canada living in communities with fluoridated water in 2006: 42.6%
  Office of the Chief Dental Officer
  
  
• Percentage of dental clinics with only one dentist in practice in 2006: 52.4%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Number of dental hygienists in Canada in 2007: 18,763
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Total expenditures for dental services in 2006: $9.94 billion
  Canadian Institute for Health Information
  
  
• Percent of dental practices in Canada with 7 or more dentists in 2006: 2.4%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Approximately 4.5% of dental expenditures in 2008 were public sector dental expenditures.
  Canadian Institute for Health Information, National Health Expenditure Trends, 2009.
  
  
• Federal spending on public dental programs in 2008 was between $250 to $275 million.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• In June 2007 there were over 18,763 dental hygienists, 30,000 dental assistants, 2100 denturists, 2050 dental technicians and 290 dental therapists in Canada.
  Canadian Dental Association.
  
  
• Total expenditures on dental services in Canada in 2008 have been estimated at $12.117 billion.
  Canadian Institute for health information, National Health Expenditure Trends, 2009.
  
  
• Number of weeks in practice for the average dentist in 2006: 45
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average number of dentists in a practice in 2006: 2.2
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average number of dental hygienists in a practice in 2006: 2.1
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Number of students in all dental schools in 2008: 1945
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• Average household expenditures on private health care services in Canada in 2007: $1,932.
  Source: Spending Patterns in Canada, 2007. Statistics Canada.
  
  
• Percentage increase in spending on private health care per household in Canada from 2003 to 2007: 24.4%
  Source: Spending Patterns in Canada, 2007. Statistics Canada.
  
  
• Number of registered dental hygienists in Canada in 2007 : 20,928
  Source: Canada’s Healthcare Providers. Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2007.
  
  
• Percentage increase in dental hygienists from 1999 to 2007: 44%
  Source: Canada’s Healthcare Providers. Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2007.
  
  
• Percentage increase in dentists from 1999 to 2007: 14%
  Canadian Dental Association
  
  
• The expenditures on dental services are 7% of total health expenditures in Canada in 2008.
  Canadian Institute for Health Information, National Health Expenditure Trends, 2009.
  
  
• The increase in dental service expenditures from 2007 to 2008 was 6.8%.
  Canadian Institue for health Information, National Health Expenditure Trends, 2009.
  
  
• Per capita spending on dental services in 2008 was $364.40.
  Canadian Institut for Health information, National Health Expenditure Trends, 2009.