Patient-Centred Preferences for Autonomy and Information-Seeking Among Periodontal Patients in Dental Decision Making

Managing periodontal disease often involves complex decisions involving multiple treatment options, and patient autonomy significantly influences this decision-making process. This study aimed to characterise the autonomy and information-seeking preferences among patients diagnosed with stage III/IV periodontitis, and to identify the factors influencing these preferences.

The survey included 96 patients diagnosed with periodontal disease, all of whom underwent periodontal treatment or tooth extraction between May 2021 and February 2022. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire incorporating the Autonomy Preference Index (API) to assess their decision-making and information-seeking preferences, along with demographic information, using a 5-point Likert scale.

Decision-making preferences were centrally distributed, with a score of 2.87 ± 0.47 (mean ± SD), indicating that most periodontal patients favoured a collaborative decision-making model. In contrast, information-seeking preferences were skewed, with a strong concentration towards the higher end of information preferences; the score was 4.55 ± 0.08. Lower age (p = 0.008) was associated with a preference for greater autonomy, while the financial burden (p = 0.034) was linked to reduced information-seeking preferences. Patients' autonomy remained relatively consistent across different periodontal clinical scenarios.

These findings suggest that periodontitis patients prefer to be well informed and share decision-making responsibilities with healthcare professionals after their diagnosis. Factors such as age and financial burden affect their autonomy, involvement and desire for information.