The aim of this study was to test factors preventing regular dental care as put forward by persons who are extrinsically or intrinsically motivated in relation to dental care. The series consisted of 390 randomly selected young and middle-aged patients, 207 women and 183 men, visiting two occupational health centers in Oulu, Finland. Logistic regression analysis showed that the probability of being extrinsically motivated was greater among those who mentioned the purposelessness of brushing their teeth, lack of time, lack of interest, expense, laziness and failure to appreciate the seriousness of dental care as factors hindering regular dental care very much or somewhat. Thus extrinsically motivated persons seemed to propose superficial reasons and reasons related to non-appreciation of dental care more often than intrinsically motivated persons.