If healthy smiles could be measured by dentist-to-population ratio, a region in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania should be as bright as the nickname of its county seat, Scranton, “The Electric City.”

According to a report by Times-Tribune’s Jon O’Connell, analysis shows the statewide ratio is one dentist for every 1,530 residents. In Lackawanna County, home of the first electric street car system in the United States, that number shifts to one dentist for every 1,380 people.

By comparison, Wayne County’s ratio is 1:1,830; Wyoming County, 1:2,140; and Luzerne County, 1:1,570.

“Lackawanna County should have the brightest smiles in the northeast, if the dentist-to-population ratio is any indicator.

There are significantly more dentists to residents compared with surrounding counties — one dentist for every 1,380 people — according to the County Health Rankings, an annual county-by-county assessment of health statistics by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.”

Dentists in Lackawanna County offer theories as to the ratio.
Read the full story to learn more: https://m.thetimes-tribune.com/news/annual-report-shows-high-dentist-concentration-in-lackawanna-county-1.2187474