Dentists Provide Billions in Free Care to Poor Children But Say Too Many Kids Still Get No Dental Care at All.

Byline: American Dental Association

WASHINGTON, April 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- The good news is that children from low-income families are getting more dental care. Unfortunately, the increase is due largely to free care provided by dentists, according to a study published in this month's Journal of the American Dental Association.

The article is based on an analysis of the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey and the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the most recent in a series of surveys conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

"Most dentists will gladly bear some …