The aim of this study was to evaluate the costs of subsidized care for an adult population provided by private and public sector dentists.
A sample of 210 patients was drawn systematically from the waiting list for nonemergency dental treatment in the city of Turku. Questionnaire data covering sociodemographic background, dental care utilization and marginal time cost estimates were combined with data from patient registers on treatment given. Information was available on 104 patients (52 from each of the public and the private sectors).
The overall time taken to provide treatment was 181 days in the public sector and 80 days in the private sector (P