Evaluation of the satisfaction of patients referred to pediatric department of BABOL dental school

Background: Achieving proper clinical outcomes relies on patient cooperation and patient cooperation relies on their satisfaction; thus patient satisfaction is essential for health care improvement; The aim of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of patients referred to pediatric department of BABOL dental school in 2011-2012. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires containing 16 questions were used. 150 questionnaires were given to the parents of children who were referred to the pediatric department of BABOL dental school. Once completed, the data were analyzed by SPSS software using Paired T-test and Chi-square test. finding: Overall, 138 participants (92%) noted high level of satisfaction and 12 of them(8%) showed moderate level of satisfaction which didn’t show any significant difference according to gender and age(P>0.05). 48(32%) patients preferred the female dentist, 30(20%) patients preferred the male dentist and 72 patients(48%) didn’t note any preference about the dentist gender. Overall, 142(94.5%) patients preferred to go back to previous dentist for subsequent treatments and 8 (5.5%) of them preferred treatment by a new one. Conclusion: Results indicated that pediatric department has been successful in achieving patient’s satisfaction and especially patients were satisfied with student’s communication manner in both undergraduate and postgraduate level. With a little effort it can be successfully upgraded to highest level.