A study tested the uses and gratifications theoretical perspective--that motivations affect media use which in turn influences the effects of that use. The American Student Dental Association targeted its publications to different subaudiences and provided a grant to the University of Texas at Austin to study (1) whether the differentiation between types of students reflected the students' actual motivations to use dental publications, and (2) their actual reading behaviors. Subjects--504 dental students--were surveyed concerning their motivations for reading nine dental magazines, their interest in various kinds of editorial content, and their actual reading habits. Motivations were measured by self reports, in which respondents were asked to rate 16 different reasons for reading dental publications on five-point Likert scales. Significant differences in motivations for reading dental publications were found between lower classmen (sophomores and juniors) and seniors and recent graduates. The study shows that knowing readers' motivations for reading dental publications can help predict those readers' interests in various kinds of content and their evaluations of and usage of various dental publications. Publishers, advertisers, and academic magazine researchers should be interested in the uses and gratifications theoretical approach because it can help publishers direct the editorial content of their publications to secure their base of readers; it can help advertisers predict where their advertisements will be the most effective; and it can help academic researchers better understand the needs of an audience. (EL)