Root Canals and Crowns: An Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of Dental Offices in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 1996-2011

Patricia J. Boda, James Harris

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Metropolitan State University, Denver, USA.
Department of Geosciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2013.46A2005                

Abstract

Every city above a certain size has health services that are located, to a large extent, close to their patients. This study analyzes the spatial distribution of dental office and the change in the number of dental offices in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico over a 15-year time period. Research was conducted in 1996 and 2011. Maps showing the location of dental offices for these two years indicate a clustering of dental offices within one and one-half miles of the city’s two principal border-crossing points between the United States and Mexico. Provider-based surveys were also used to determine the mix of patients (US or Mexican citizens) at the dental offices found throughout the city. By 2011, nearly all of the dental offices clustered within one and one-half miles of the two principal US-Mexico border crossings had 100% of their patients from the United States.

Keywords

Cross-Border Health Care; Medical Geography; US-Mexico Border; Dental

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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