Abstract
The accessibility of oral health care services is one of the determinants of oral health in Saudi Arabia, very little is known about the geographic distribution of dental health care services, or spatial dimensions related to dental service access (travel time, distance, etc.), especially within metropolitan areas. Therefore, this study used known community profile indicators to assess the geographic accessibility of existing dental services in the city of Al Madina, Saudi Arabia. Geographic coordinates were identified for 33 primary clinics and 48 private clinics. The Al Madina metropolitan area, containing 1,105,465 residents, was divided into 103 districts, in accordance with the 2010 population census. Clinic locations and the number of dentists at each clinic were integrated with the city's population census data within each district, using a geographic information system. The city metropolitan area consisted of 103 neighborhoods with a total of 1,105,465 residents (715,980 Saudis and 389,485 non-Saudis). Thirty-three fixed public primary dental clinics and 48 private dental clinics were geocoded within the municipality. The city exhibited an overall practice-to-population ratio of one dental clinic per 13,647 residents. More clinics (55% public and 58% private) were located within 3 km of the city center. Notably, 8% of the population was located more than 10 km from the city center. A total of 37% of the city's districts were identified as areas of relative need; these were primarily located in peripheral metropolitan areas. This study depicts a clear example of the inverse care law, where people living in outer metropolitan areas have less spatial access to dental care than those living in inner metropolitan areas.