Impact of Dental Services on Patients’ Perception at Private Dental Clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This cross sectional descriptive study aims to evaluate the patients' perception of received services across private dental clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by measuring the satisfaction level toward patient–dental staff interaction, technical competency, system/administrative efficiency and clinic setup/environment. These dimensions assessed using self-administrated questionnaires distributed through several dental clinics. Results show that treatment's pre-explanation, privacy, and later advice gained the highest satisfaction, while the treatment incompleteness, side talking of the staff and the long waiting time before getting the treatment were the most discontent aspects. The mean score of satisfaction with patient–dental staff interaction was 63.8%, technical competency was 59.8%, system/administrative efficiency and clinic setup/environment was 54.9%. The overall satisfaction level was 59.5%. There is an essential need establish policies and guidelines to adjust the relationship between dental staff and their patients. Specialized bodies should develop and apply code of professional conduct to enhance the technical competency of dental staff. They are required to provide sufficient level of human, technological, administrative and financial resources to keep up with the growing steady demand on the dental care services and to assist in offering appropriate, fast and comprehensive treatment.