Referring children to a Special Dental Care Centre in the Netherlands: parents' experiences and expectations.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to assess the relation between treatment at the family dentist versus referral and different aspects of treatment at a Special Dental Care Centre (SDCC), including the choice to return to their family dentist or not. The same study was performed for a group of patients recently referred to and still treated at a Special Dental Care Centre ( SDCC).


METHODS
A questionnaire was sent to the parents of 852 children for whom complete dental records were available. Treatment was completed for 111 children (study 1) and 170 children were recently referred and had just started treatment (study 2). RESULTS/STATISTIC: In total 281 questionnaires were returned and filled out. Parents of children who returned to their general dental practitioner (GDP) were more satisfied with their GDP treatment than parents of children who did not return to their GDP (study 1: Z=- 3.65, p<0.001; study 2: Z=-2.86, p=0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
The decision to return to the family dentist or not after treatment at a SDCC centre was based on their satisfaction with their treatment.
Klaassen
M A
MA
Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Pedodontology, Academic Centre of Dentistry, Amsterdam, The Netherland.
Veerkamp
J S J
JS
Aartman
I H A
IH
D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000145:classification; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D005260:Female; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012390:Root Canal Therapy; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014081:Tooth Extraction