title: Primary care practice patterns.
abstract: An interview survey of the primary care practices of a class of dental school graduates was conducted in 1977 as a part of a longitudinal study that was begun 11 years earlier, when these individuals entered dental school. Primary care was defined by the variety of dental treatment procedures used by the dentist and by his or her participation in interdisciplinary aspects of health care. The study showed that: (1) the urban or rural location of the practice was not associated with primary care; (2) the dentists' position in the practice (sole practitioner, group owner, and so forth) was associated with the variety of treatment procedures used; (3) predental school values, dental aptitudes, and dental school achievement were significant predictors of primary care practices; and (4) the two measures of primary care were uncorrelated, and there were several patterns of primary care being practiced.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003729:Dental Care / Q000379:methods*; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011364:Professional Practice; D012945:Social Values