EVALUATION OF SATISFACTION WITH DENTAL SERVICES IN PATIENTS REFERRED TO PUBLIC DENTAL CENTERS (KERMAN, IRAN)

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is one of the most important goals of treatment-related organizations and a means to increase patient commitment. Satisfaction will attract patients' participation to the treatment, being a key indicator related to efficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of patient satisfaction with dental services in public treatment centers of Kerman, in 2020.Materials and methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on 385 patients referred to Kerman treatment centers, selected by a two-stage systematic method. Data was collected using instruments including demographic information (age, gender, level of education, job and economic status, oral health assessment, last dental visit and reason for referral), and a 9 item standard questionnaire on dental patients' satisfaction on clinical quality, quality of services, their ease and availability, pain and discomfort during the treatment, dentists' responsibility, cost and accessibility. Data analysis was done by SP5521, using t -test chi-square (X2), ANOVA, and linear regression al a significant level of 0.05. Results and discussion: In this study, 66.5% of the subjects were females. The mean age of the participants in this study was 37.22 11.01 years. Most of the respondents (59.2%) had a BA degree. The economic status of 30.9% of individuals and the oral health of 31.4% of them was moderate, the most common cause of referral (46.8%) being pain. 61.8% of patients were satisfied with the dental services. The mean value of the questionnaire was 42.87 6.76, out of 95. In this study, young patients referred because of pain, and self-employed individuals were significantly more satisfied.Conclusions: The results of this study showed that 61.8% of the patients were satisfied with the dental services offered. As patient satisfaction is an important indicator for the assessment of the health care system, further studies are recommended in different private and public dental centers.