2008 Survey of Pro Bono Services Provided by Practicing Prosthodontists

The purpose of this article is to analyze data from the results of the 2008 Survey of Pro Bono Services Provided by Practicing Prosthodontists. Survey results are used to examine characteristics and to compare the charitable care rendered by practicing prosthodontists to the dental field at large.

The character and incidence of pro bono services (PBS) provided by prosthodontists are based on a 2008 survey, made possible through an American College of Prosthodontists Board of Directors' sponsored initiative. Survey results are used to assess the distribution of respondents practicing the specialty of prosthodontics in the United States, percentage of prosthodontists who render pro bono dental services for the community, percentage of total patient care devoted to pro bono treatment at no charge, number of patients treated annually with PBS, monetary value of pro bono care annually, types of pro bono procedures, percentage of practitioners using Prosthodontic Diagnostic Index (PDI), PBS by PDI category to assess complexity of donated work, and percentage of practicing prosthodontists using informatics to track services by the PDI.

Thirty-nine states were represented in the survey data. The highest responses were in the most populous states. The percentage of practicing prosthodontists providing PBS was 71.7%. For this cohort, the annual percentage of total care provided for treatment at no fee was greater than 1% in more than 54.8% of the practices. Almost 50% of these prosthodontists reported treating more than five patients per year at no charge. The average annual value of donated services was $25,078.00. The types of services rendered were most frequently diagnostic (83.5%) and radiographic (76.6%), followed by operative dentistry (61.5%) and fixed prosthodontics (49.4%). The percentage of practicing prosthodontists using the PDI to establish the complexity of PBS was 17.9%. For those using the PDI, there was almost an even distribution in categories I-IV. Informatics was used to track PBS in only 3% of the respondents.

Based on this survey, practicing prosthodontists compare favorably to dental generalists and other specialists in terms of the annual dollar value donated in pro bono care. Their treatment addresses a broad scope of prosthodontic services including the restoration of patients with complex needs.