Usefulness of a Statewide Referral Directory of Dentists Found Willing to Treat Disabled Persons

Referral directories of dentists willing to treat disabled individuals have been used as an expeditious means of improving access to care for this group. The purpose of this survey was to assess the usefulness of one such statewide referral directory. Agencies, individual field workers, and organizations to which the directory had been sent 18 months earlier were surveyed to determine the usefulness of the directory. Of the 77 groups and individuals surveyed, 46 (59.7 percent) reported that they had received the directory. The directory was considered “useful” or “very useful” by 58.7 percent of the acknowledged recipients. An additional 19.6 percent considered it to be “marginally useful.” The directory was estimated to be used at least once per month by 59.1 percent of the recipients. Referral directories address only one aspect of access to dental care for disabled individuals; the effectiveness of such directories depends on their appropriate use by referring agencies.