Patient satisfaction with dental care in one Swedish age cohort. Part 1--descriptions and dimensions.

The aim of this study were to investigate the dimensionality of satisfaction with dental care, to control the reproducibility of the analysis over time, to investigate changes between the two studied years and to relate satisfaction with elapsed time since the most recent visit to dental care. All persons born in 1942 in two counties in Sweden, Orebro and Ostergötland, were surveyed by post in 1992 at the age of 50 and resurveyed at the age of 55. There were 5363 persons responding at both times, constituting the study group. In this study, opinions are analysed about general satisfaction with dental care and about the most recent dental visit. Factor analysis, one-way ANOVA and contingency tables were used. Overall satisfaction was high both as to general satisfaction and as to the most recent dental care visit. Those with their most recent dental visit more than a year ago felt more pain, anxiety and unpleasantness and were also more generally dissatisfied. Of those having experiences of pain, anxiety and unpleasantness at most recent visit, there was an overrepresentation of non regular attenders. Factor analysis showed that the questions used revealed a stable pattern. In conclusion, the overall satisfaction with dental care was high. Differences between the two studied years were small. Persons not visiting dental care within the last year were more dissatisfied both generally and with the most recent visit. A greater number of regular attenders had no feelings of anxiety, pain or unpleasantness at all.