The dentist's type of services

Most dental practises limited the number and type of services they performed. In generally, a routine dental practice provided regular day-to-day services, such as check-ups, teeth cleaning, cavity filling, and minor corrective treatments.

If the patient's need were outside the scop of practice's usual treatments, the dentist would then refer the patient to a dentist who specialized in those procedures. For example, a patient who required the removal of wisdom teeth would be referred to a dental surgeon, or a patient requiring orthodontic would be referred to an orthodontist.

This allowed dentist to focus on specific areas of treatment with the hope of providing the highest possible quality of care. This resulted in most dental practices maintaining relationships with specialized dentist who focused on other areas of patient care.