Dentists demonstrating professionalism: Dentists in private practice settings provide free or reduced-fee care.

ABSTRACT

Access to oral health care is an issue that has received attention at the local, state, regional, and national levels. This study focuses on how dentists in private practice settings attempt to address problems regarding access to care through personal initiatives. These dentists donate or discount services in their own offices to individuals who face access barriers. These donated or discounted services may go unreported and unnoticed. The research question addressed in this study is What was the amount and type of free and reduced-fee care that dentists in the community of Brookline, Massachusetts, provided during the 2008 calendar year.