Assessing Spatial Accessibility to Pediatric Dental Clinics Using the Geographic Information System

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accessibility of pediatric dental clinics and quantitatively compare the regions with the best and worst accessibility to pediatric dental clinics in South Korea using the geographic information system. Seoul city showed the highest density of pediatric dental clinics, while Gyeongbuk and Jeonbuk provinces showed the lowest density. Seoul city had a service area ratio of 100% in all districts on a 10 km basis. In Gyeongbuk and Jeonbuk provinces, more than half of the districts had a service area ratio of 0%. In Seoul, the average distance from elementary school to the nearest pediatric dental clinic was 3.45 km. The average distance values were 43.66 km and 40.57 km in Gyeongbuk and Jeonbuk provinces, respectively, which were 12.66 times and 11.76 times longer than the average distance in Seoul city.