EVIDENCE has been available for a long time that a marked disparity exists between dental needs and dental services,' and that young children get very little dental care.2 The question as to why these conditions exist has occupied the attention of public health dentists for many years. This much we are sure of: good dental health for children depends on the quality and availability of dental services. Viewed from any anglethe prevention of dental diseases, the caring for the yearly increment of defects which appear in the teeth, the interception of threats to normal growth and function, the correction of dental anomalieschildren must have good dental services frequently and periodically. It follows then that one of the prime requisites of good dental health for children is well trained dentists who are readily available. The distribution of dentists has been studied by several investigators 3-5 and the effects of community, county, and state economic status on this distribution noted.f8 This information suggests that while no community is overburdened with dentists, some places are more favored than others, largely on an economic basis. Dentists tend to practise in areas of high income; not necessarily in areas of greatest need. As a result, wide varia-