Patient satisfaction with three dental specialties

Abstract

Patient satisfaction surveys have become an increasingly useful tool for the measurement of the quality of dental services.

The purpose of the present study is to assess the degree of satisfaction of female patients with three dental specialties: odontopediatrics, periodontics and oral surgery.

A 238 female patient sample was used. Patients were aged 15 and more, and had received dental care at least twice at the Dental Service of the Hospital Rancagua, in Chile. They were surveyed during July 2007 and asked about their experience in prior visits. Patients reported the degree of satisfaction in a Likert-like 5 points score, for each of the 10 questions, focused in the fields of: access, communication with the dentist, infrastructure and other aspects.

The areas that resulted as less than average after assessment, included the obtainment of appointments in a prescheduled time, and the waiting time at the clinic to gain access the dentist.

The participants were in average satisfied with the explanations the dentist gave to them concerning the dental treatment and the access to the dental treatment. The availability of restrooms was the worst assessed. The area receiving the best satisfaction from the patients was the technical skills of the dentist.

Such results indicate that the degree of patient satisfaction was moderately excellent. The areas identified as in need of an improvement include the following: dentist-patient rapport, appointment assignment system, shortening of the waiting time to access the dentist.