Parents' satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their children's dentist.

Three papers published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, “The Public Looks at Dental Care,”’ “Dentists and the Practice of Dentistry as Viewed by the Public,”’ and “What the Public Thinks of the Dentist and Dental Health,”3 indicate that public reaction to the practice of dental care is important to dental practitioners as well 1s dental researchers. An increasing amount of research is being focused on the analysis of the factors which relate to the public’s attitudes toward the delivery of health services. Part of this interest stems from the dentists’ desire to gain maximum utilization of services once the problems associated with Richardsy4 “enabling characteristics” are solved. Such characteristics as family factors (level of income and availability of voluntary health insurance) and community factors (urban-rural and regional distribution) which affect access to services are examples. Studies show, when financial barriers to dental treatment are lessened, a social gradient still continues to appear in the utilization of dental service^.^ Recent findings from research indicate that the utilization of dental resources is related significantly to consumers’ perceptions of acceptability of dental practice. Such factors, associated with the providers of services, ranked second after financial factors in the scoring which explains why parents did or did not obtain the dental treatment needed by their children.6 The literature on the satisfaction and dissatisfaction with dental treatment is characterized by two approaches. In one approach the publications describe the public’s dental habits and attitudes toward the dental profession and the reasons why the patient is satisfied or dissatisfied with his dental service.’’ ’, 7 3 8 7 9 In the other approach, a course of action is proposed to (1) improve the relations between the profession and the patient, for example, through changes in the curricula of dental education,” to (2) suggest that dental societies improve the public’s image of dental practice through the media for news,3 or to (3) urge the use of psychology to improve one’s chairside manner.’ The report about to be presented will relate to the first approach the reasons why parents are satisfied or dissatisfied with dental services provided for their families. Parents’ responses to questions about (1) whether they think their child’s dentist is a good dentist, and why?, (2) whether they have considered changing dentists and why?, and (3) whether they agree with statements expressing lack of acceptability of some aspects of delivering dental services as analyzed. Cross-tabulations also were studied between the levels of socioeconomic status of the respondents and the variables listed. ____ * Supported by Grant DH 00133-01 of U. S. Public Health Service * * Assistant Professor, Division of Health Ecology, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455 ** * Assistant Professor, Division of Health Ecology, same address t Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry,