Prevalence of complaints by patients against general dental practitioners in greater Manchester

A postal questionnaire regarding potential and official patient complaints was sent to all dentists on the Family Health Service Authority list of four health districts in Greater Manchester. From an eligible sample of 335 dentists, 306 responses were received (91%), 289 of them from general dental practitioners (GDPs). One hundred of the GDPs (35%) had reported at least one potential complaint to their defence organisation in the past 5 years (1989-1993) and 10 GDPs had reported three or more complaints. The majority of complaints were in the field of restorative dentistry (57%) with complaints about oral surgery accounting for another 20%. Dentists who worked longer hours contacted their defence organisation more often regarding potential complaints. Thirty-two dentists reported that their most recent potential complaint had resulted in an official complaint being filed against them. There was a significant relationship between the prevalence of official complaints and the dentists' reported level of unsatisfactory patient visits.