Production Management in the Context of Dentistry

Abstract

This research aimed to find, gather, and analyze what has been published over the last decade about production management in the context of dental service provision. The study follows a systematic literature review. Searches were conducted in Web of Science™ database with a period constraint of eleven years (2008-2018). A conceptual framework for crossing both disciplines was elaborated to support data analysis. The literature review identified 17 peer-reviewed articles that have addressed the topic. Therefore, little scientific work has been produced in this interdisciplinary field. The findings suggest that patient treatment and dentist’s working time are what demand time the most and influence productivity the most. Productivity is commonly measured per patient seen or treatment delivered. However, there is no consensus among scholars and academics on what type of output measurement is better. In addition, a couple of different types of dental establishments have been identified, and among them, dental centers, dental hospitals, and university dental centers lack studies applying production management tools. The review brings an overview of the intersection of the disciplines consisted of 17 peer-reviewed articles and provides directions for future studies. Practitioners may benefit from information such as the current main ways of measuring productivity. The review shows a picture of the current situation in such an interdisciplinary topic that may contribute to the understanding of it by providing a structured overview that can be useful for academics and practitioners.