title: A survey of the perception of comprehensiveness among dentists in a large Brazilian city.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantitatively identify the perception of dentists regarding comprehensiveness and its domains of "patient welcoming", "bonding" and "quality of care" in primary dental care settings of a large Brazilian city.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was administered to all dentists comprising the primary health care service to Belo Horizonte with tenured jobs and 40 work hours per week, totalling a population of 207 professionals. The response rate was 90.34%. A pilot test was conducted with 44 dentists working in primary care for at least two years and who did not participate in the main study. Descriptive statistical analysis involved calculating proportions. No confidence intervals were calculated because this was a census study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In most items (79.0%), professionals' perceptions about the comprehensiveness were overwhelmingly positive. When we stratified the analysis by domain and checked those items about which dentists had a less favourable perception, 22.7% were in the patient welcoming domain, 25.0% were in the bonding domain and 12.5% were in quality of care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comprehensiveness, as an approach in health care practice, needs to be enhanced, and there is evidence that these dentists are aware of its importance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Universidade Federal of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270901, Brazil. gueziabh@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Grazielle C M
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Mattos
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Universidade Federal of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270901, Brazil. cleitonsirineu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Cleiton G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Sirineu
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Universidade Federal of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270901, Brazil. rafa_tx@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Bruno R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: King's College London Dental Institute at Guy's, King's College and St Thomas' Hospitals, Division of Population and Patient Health, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS UK. jenny.gallagher@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry, Universidade Federal of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270901, Brazil. smpaiva@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Saul M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Universidade Federal of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270901, Brazil. maurohenriqueabreu@ig.com.br.
authors.forename: Mauro H N G
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Abreu
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001938:Brazil; D003729:Dental Care; D003815:Dentists; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
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