title: Caregivers' satisfaction with pediatric dental care in a university clinical setting in North Philadelphia.
abstract: The aims of this study were twofold: to describe different aspects of caregiver satisfaction with pediatric dental treatment provided at a dental school clinic and to explore differences in satisfaction by caregivers' demographics and compliance with their children's appointments. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I, a convenience sample of caregivers (n=100) eighteen years of age and older whose children had been receiving dental care in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were invited to complete a self-administered dental satisfaction questionnaire. In Phase II, sociodemographic data and the child's reason for visit were extracted from axiUm. Descriptive analyses stratified by sociodemographic variables were conducted. Results indicated that almost half of the caregivers reported feeling concerned about pain at the dental office. Those with the lowest levels of education and income reported feeling the most concern about pain at the dental office, as well as sometimes avoiding bringing their child to the dentist because of their fear of pain and not complying with scheduled dental appointments for the child. Operational aspects related to access and motivational aspects such as fear of pain when seeking dental treatment were identified as barriers to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Community Oral Health Sciences, Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University, 3223 N Broad Street, Room 307, Philadelphia, PA 19140;. Marisol@dental.temple.edu.
authors.forename: Marisol
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tellez
authors.forename: Sundeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016854:Dental Anxiety; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology*; D003740:Dental Clinics; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry / Q000193:education*; D015143:Philadelphia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: access to care; caregiver satisfaction; clinic management; dental school clinic; pain; patient satisfaction; pediatric dentistry; treatment satisfaction