Background Earlier research emphasizes the importance of positive work relations for dentists’ perception of opportunities for quality in handicraft and patient relations. A scale for positive work relations, Community with Trust, has been developed and its psychometrical properties evaluated. Objectives. The aim of the study was a) to compare mean scores on Community with Trust across subgroups based on organizational affiliation; b) to analyse associations between work factors (size of practice, common breaks, formalized managerial education of the daily leader, influence on work, profession-oriented and productivity-oriented practice climate) and Community with Trust; and c) to assess the correlation between the scales for Community with Trust and Overall Job Satisfaction. Methods. A questionnaire was sent to 1835 general dental practitioners, randomly selected from dental associations in Sweden and Denmark. The response rate was 68%. Kruskal Wallis test and Pearson’s correlation were applied and a hierarchical linear multiple regression model with the outcome variable Community with Trust was built. Results. Significant differences in mean score of Community with Trust were found for dentists working in different organizational forms. The final regression analysis explained 49 % of the variation and showed that factors such as common breaks, influence on work, and a practice climate with values corresponding with those of the profession contributed to explanation of the differences in average among dentists with different organizational affiliation. Community with Trust and Overall Job Satisfaction were moderately to strongly correlated (0.52). Conclusion. The study pointed to the relevance of addressing the professional ethos when organizing and managing dentistry for a sustainable work environment supporting quality in handicraft and in relations with patients.