A comparison of patients' perception of dental care offered by male or female dentists in New Zealand.

Recent increases in women dentists in New Zealand follow similar trends in other Western countries. The career patterns of female dentists, and male dentists' attitudes towards women dentists in New Zealand have been previously studied. The aim of this study was to compare the attitudes and preferences of patients towards dental care offered by either male or female dentists, to determine what influences these preferences, and to discover whether or not these opinions differed between regular or irregular attenders.