Determination of fees by professionals: an exploratory investigation of dentists

Previous research has attempted to infer dentists' pricing practices from aggregate data, such as those derived from insurance claims. In a disaggregated analysis based on a mail survey of 327 dentists in private practice, the authors find the most important influence on dental fees to be cost, followed by fees charged by other dentists and perceptions of patient sensitivity to prices. The relative importance of the various influences on dentists' fees is related to several practice characteristics, including location and gross income.