P Gürdal1, H Cankaya, E Onem, S Dinçer, T Yílmaz. 1. Ege University School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Diagnosis & Radiology, Izmir, Turkey. guerdal@dishekimligi.ege.edu.tr
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Being service providers, dental professionals should satisfy their consumers/dental patients. This study investigates satisfaction with dental care among the patients of a dental faculty outpatient clinic of a major university in Izmir, Turkey. METHOD: The study was performed on 1001 patients of whom 674 filled out the questionnaire containing sociodemographic items and open-ended questions to determine the factors of (dis)satisfaction. The open-ended questions were content analyzed, and each patient was scored according to his comments: "complaining: (0)", "both praising and complaining: (1)", "no comment: (2)", and "praising: (3)". Each factor that has an impact on the decision of the study sample was determined by statistical analyses of data, using student t-test, chi-square test, and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Most of the patients were highly educated (74.7%), had a high income (48.7%), and were young to middle-aged (73.1%). There was a well-balanced gender representation. The patient sample had sought care mostly for dental caries, periodontal diseases, problems with old restorations, and prosthetic rehabilitation. Of 1,001 patients, 38.6% were satisfied with the dental care they received, 23.8% were both satisfied and dissatisfied, 5% were dissatisfied, and 32.7% failed to comment. No significant differences were observed between the satisfaction/dissatisfaction scores and sociodemographic variables of the patients in the groups (P>0.05). The most important components of satisfaction were found to be "relationship between dentists and patients" (P<0.001), "organized service system" (P<0.001), and "scientific ability of dental personnel" (P<0.001). The most prominent complaints were "long treatment span" (P<0.001), "disorganized service system" (P<0.001), and "slowness of radiographical examination procedures" (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the significant variations among the cultural and ethnic structures of different societies, personal interactions have priority in establishing satisfying dental service.
OBJECTIVES: Being service providers, dental professionals should satisfy their consumers/dental patients. This study investigates satisfaction with dental care among the patients of a dental faculty outpatient clinic of a major university in Izmir, Turkey. METHOD: The study was performed on 1001 patients of whom 674 filled out the questionnaire containing sociodemographic items and open-ended questions to determine the factors of (dis)satisfaction. The open-ended questions were content analyzed, and each patient was scored according to his comments: "complaining: (0)", "both praising and complaining: (1)", "no comment: (2)", and "praising: (3)". Each factor that has an impact on the decision of the study sample was determined by statistical analyses of data, using student t-test, chi-square test, and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Most of the patients were highly educated (74.7%), had a high income (48.7%), and were young to middle-aged (73.1%). There was a well-balanced gender representation. The patient sample had sought care mostly for dental caries, periodontal diseases, problems with old restorations, and prosthetic rehabilitation. Of 1,001 patients, 38.6% were satisfied with the dental care they received, 23.8% were both satisfied and dissatisfied, 5% were dissatisfied, and 32.7% failed to comment. No significant differences were observed between the satisfaction/dissatisfaction scores and sociodemographic variables of the patients in the groups (P>0.05). The most important components of satisfaction were found to be "relationship between dentists and patients" (P<0.001), "organized service system" (P<0.001), and "scientific ability of dental personnel" (P<0.001). The most prominent complaints were "long treatment span" (P<0.001), "disorganized service system" (P<0.001), and "slowness of radiographical examination procedures" (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the significant variations among the cultural and ethnic structures of different societies, personal interactions have priority in establishing satisfying dental service.
Authors: Joseph L Riley; Valeria V Gordan; Susan E Hudak-Boss; Jeffery L Fellows; D Brad Rindal; Gregg H Gilbert Journal: J Am Dent Assoc Date: 2014-04 Impact factor: 3.634
Authors: Joseph L Riley; Valeria V Gordan; D Brad Rindal; Jeffrey L Fellows; Vibeke Qvist; Sagar Patel; Pat Foy; O Dale Williams; Gregg H Gilbert Journal: J Am Dent Assoc Date: 2012-09 Impact factor: 3.634
Authors: Sonya T Mitchell; Ellen Funkhouser; Valeria V Gordan; Joseph L Riley; Sonia K Makhija; Mark S Litaker; Gregg H Gilbert Journal: BMC Oral Health Date: 2017-03-27 Impact factor: 2.757