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This article is the last in a series of three articles compiling the results of the 1995 Managed Care Marketplace Information Survey conducted by the ADA Council on Dental Practice. It addresses practice characteristics of dentists participating in capitation and preferred provider organization plans.

Concerns about ergonomic risk factors have been growing among health care and other workers. The authors undertook a study to determine the presence of certain ergonomic risk factors in typical tasks performed by dentists and dental hygienists. They further investigated--by means of electromyography and goniometry--the force, frequency and duration of the task. The study suggests that when a task's duration, force and frequency are accounted for, scaling, polishing, flossing and probing activities do not represent exposure to high ergonomic risk.

This article is the second in a series of three compiling the results of the 1995 Managed Care Marketplace Information Survey conducted by the ADA Council on Dental Practice. This article addresses dentists' opinions on various statements regarding managed care. Most dentists had similar opinions regardless of whether they participated in managed care.

This article is the first in a series compiling the results of the 1995 Managed Care Marketplace Information Survey conducted by the ADA Council on Dental Practice. It addresses the demographic and practice characteristics of dentists participating and not participating in managed care plans. Dentists with at least one contract were somewhat more likely to be located in the Pacific or Middle Atlantic regions, be female and have practiced less than 10 years. Dentists who participated in at least one managed care contract worked slightly more hours per week, saw slightly more total patients per week, saw more emergency and walk-in patients and had shorter appointments.

Despite recent clinical innovations, there are considerable periodontal treatment needs for the general population. This study shows that dentists believe the new periodontal screening method will be useful in determining and providing treatment needs.