DENTAL EXPENDITURES BY SELECTED DENTIST AND PRACTICE CHARACTERISTICS

Total estimated dental expenditures in 1995 were approximately $47.6 b illion as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, or BEA. Accordi ng to the Health Care Financing Administration, or HCFA, the total est imated dental expenditures In 1995 were approximately $44.7 billion. U sing the reported gross billings from the annual ADA ''Survey of Denta l Practice,'' the authors estimated that the total national dental exp enditures in 1995 were about $45.5 billion. As this estimate falls bet ween the BEA- and HCFA-estimated total dental expenditures, it Is one confirmation of the reliability and validity of ADA's estimates. This estimate also can be used to look at: dental expenditures by selected characteristics-such as specialty, office time and number of dentists in the practice.