[Hungarian dentists' corporate response to eliminating mandatory membership in the Medical Chamber].

Hungary's recent parliamentary act (Act XCVII. 2006) revoked the mandatory membership in medical chambers as a prerequisite of professional activity in the health service. After 31st of March 2007, members were automatically canceled except having addressed a unilateral declaration to the presidency of the relevant chamber from 1st of January until the above deadline. Dentists and physicians were mandatory members of the Hungarian Medical Chamber. According to the data obtained and analysed from the registry of this Chamber, out of all former dentist members (N = 5878) 5022 (85.44%) volunteered for the reorganized corporation. In cases of immigrant dentists (N = 522, 8.9% of the whole community) nine out of ten decided the same way (88.5%). Using specific distributions and correlations (gender, age groups, geographic location, practices on public financing) this study revealed many remarkable behavioural patterns of dentists' community to the changed legislation.