Total estimated dental expenditures in 1995 were approximately $47.6 billion as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, or BEA. According to the Health Care Financing Administration, or HCFA, the total estimated dental expenditures in 1995 were approximately $44.7 billion. Using the reported gross billings from the annual ADA "Survey of Dental Practice," the authors estimated that the total national dental expenditures in 1995 were about $45.5 billion. As this estimate falls between the BEA- and HCFA-estimated total dental expenditures, it is one confirmation of the reliability and validity of ADA's estimates. This estimate also can be used to look at dental expenditures by selected characteristics--such as specialty, office time and number of dentists in the practice.