title: Patient satisfaction in four types of dental practice.
abstract: There has been a significant growth in alternative types of dental practice. To determine satisfaction, patients were surveyed in urban private practices, a hospital dental clinic, a neighborhood health center, and a large group practice situated in a shopping center, using a 14-item survey and a 5-point rating scale. Patient satisfaction was related to the following factors in descending order: dentist, staff, efficiency, time-cost, and accessibility. Patients rated private practice most favorably for all factors with the exception of accessibility, which was rated highest for the shopping center practice. Patients rated the hospital least favorably for all factors with the exception of dentist, which was rated least favorably for the shopping center practice. Although private practices were the most favorably perceived, alternative types of practice were also highly rated and met specific patient needs. Satisfaction was greater for older patients, for patients with less education, and for white compared with black patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Dentistry, Eastern Dental Center, Rochester, NY 14620.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Handelman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan-Hsu
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Proskin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003740:Dental Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003749:Dental Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003797:Dental Staff; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D004522:Educational Status; D004526:Efficiency; D005006:Ethnicity; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005250:Fees, Dental; D006124:Group Practice, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D011331:Private Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011365:Professional Practice Location / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires