Self-reported factors for improving patient's dental care: A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Dental Public Health
• Patient Experience
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Improving dental care attendance is vital, yet research on patient-centered factors remains limited.
• A patient-centered approach can yield valuable insights for enhancing dental service utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate self-reported factors influencing patient attendance in dental care.
• To identify key elements that encourage or deter individuals from seeking dental treatment.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted with 196 adult patients at an urgent dental care clinic in Oulu, Finland.
• Data included structured questionnaires and open-ended responses analyzed via inductive content analysis, alongside the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS).

Main Results:

• Personnel (29%), patient-related factors (28%), treatment aspects (25%), and administrative issues (19%) were the primary categories identified.
• Females favored personnel and patient factors, while males preferred administrative and treatment factors.
• Dental fear significantly influenced preferences, with anxious patients emphasizing personnel and treatment factors.

Conclusions:

• Dental patients, particularly those with higher dental fear, place significant importance on the quality of dental personnel and treatment.
• These findings underscore the need to address patient and personnel-related factors to improve dental care access and adherence.