Patients’ perceptions and preferences of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in a university dental hospital

Year 2018, Volume: 52 Issue: 3, 137 - 142, 01.09.2018

Gökhan Gürler , Çağrı Delilbaşı İpek Kaçar

Abstract

DOI: 10.26650/eor.2018.483

Purpose

There is a lack of information regarding
the dental patient’s point of view of oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMFSs).
The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions and preferences of a
group of university dental hospital patients for OMFSs.

Materials and methods

This study was based on patients’
self-assessment using a questionnaire. A total of 530 patients were enrolled
for the study. The patients’ preferences regarding the surgeons’ age, gender,
religion, race and experience were determined and compared statistically.

Results

A total of 506 questionnaires were
considered as complete and used in the analysis. Female patients preferred
female practitioner more than male patients did (p=0.002), but no significant
difference was found between male and female patients regarding preference for
the age (p=0.464), ethnicity (p=0.926) and religion (p=0.261) of the OMFS. The
educational status of the patients did not have an effect on the gender
preference for the OMFS (p=0.114); however, educational status significantly
affected the preferences for the ethnicity and religion of the practitioners
(p=0.001). 

Conclusion

Today patient expectations and perceptions
take place in post graduate education programs. In this study we determined a
wide range of different factors for choosing an OMFS. The diversity of these
factors may affect the quality of the health service and thus must be
considered in determining the content of oral and maxillofacial curriculum. 

Keywords

Educational status; patient perception; patient preference; practitioner gender; oral and maxillofacial surgeon

References

• 1. Ungureanu MI, Mocean F. What do patients take into account when they choose their dentist? Implications for quality improvement. Patient Prefer Adherence 2015; 27: 1715-20. 2. Riley JL 3rd, Gordan VV, Hudak-Boss SE, Fellows JL, Rindal DB, Gilbert GH; National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Collaborative Group. Concordance between patient satisfaction and the dentist’s view: findings from The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. J Am Dent Assoc 2014; 145: 355-62. 3. Manning BT, Ahn J, Bohl DD, Mayo BC, Louie PK, Singh K. Spine Surgeon Selection Criteria: Factors Influencing Patient Choice. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2016; 41: E814-9. 4. Bender DJ. Patient preference for a racially or gender-concordant student dentist. J Dent Educ 2007; 71: 726-45. 5. Furnham A, Swami V. Patient preferences for dentists. Psychol Health Med 2009; 14: 143-9. 6. Rimondini M, Mazzi MA, Deveugele M, Bensing JM. How do national cultures influence lay people’s preferences toward doctors’ style of communication? A comparison of 35 focus groups from an European cross national research. BMC Public Health 2015; 15: 1239. 7. Amir H, Beri A, Yechiely R, Amir Levy Y, Shimonov M, Groutz A. Do Urology Male Patients Prefer Same-Gender Urologist? Am J Mens Health 2018; 12: 1379-83. 8 Schnittker J, Liang K. The promise and limits of racial/ethnic concordance in physician-patient interaction. J Health Polit Policy Law 2006; 31: 811-38. 9 Kim MJ, Damiano PC, Hand J, Denehy GE, Cobb DS, Qian F. Consumers’ choice of dentists: how and why people choose dental school faculty members as their oral health care providers. J Dent Educ 2012; 76: 695-704. 10 Carlin CS, Kralewski J, Savage M. Sources of information used in selection of surgeons. Am J Manag Care 2013; 19: e293-300. 11. Stokes JP, Pack AR, Spears GF. A comparison of patients’ perception of dental care offered by male or female dentists in New Zealand. Int Dent J 1992; 42: 217-22. 12. Swami V, McClelland A, Bedi R, Furnham A. The influence of practitioner nationality, experience, and sex in shaping patient preferences for dentists. Int Dent J 2011; 61: 193-8. 13. Edwards RD, Saladyga AT, Schriver JP, Davis KG. Patient attitudes to surgeons’ attire in an outpatient clinic setting: substance over style. Am J Surg 2012; 204: 663-5. 14. Kelly GR, Shroff B, Best AM, Tufekci E, Lindauer SJ. Parents’ preferences regarding appearance and attire of orthodontists. Angle Orthod 2014; 84: 404-9. 15. Graffy J. Patient choice in a practice with men and women general practitioners. Br J Gen Pract 1990; 40: 13-5. 16. Smith MK, Dundes L. The implications of gender stereotypes for the dentist-patient relationship. J Dent Educ 2008; 72: 562-70. 17. Brosky ME, Keefer OA, Hodges JS, Pesun IJ, Cook G. Patient perceptions of professionalism in dentistry. J Dent Educ 2003; 67: 909-15. 18 Abghari MS, Takemoto R, Sadiq A, Karia R, Phillips D, Egol KA. Patient perceptions and preferences when choosing an orthopaedic surgeon. Iowa Orthop J 2014; 34: 204-8. 19. Lillie-Blanton M, Brodie M, Rowland D, Altman D, McIntosh M. Race, ethnicity, and the health care system: public perceptions and experiences. Med Care Res Rev 2000; 57: 218-35. 20. Lillie-Blanton M, Hoffman C. Racial and ethnic inequities in access to medical care. Introduction. Med Care Res Rev 2000; 57: 5-10. 21. Shah R, Ogden J. ‘What’s in a face?’ The role of doctor ethnicity, age and gender in the formation of patients’ judgements: an experimental study. Patient Educ Couns 2006; 60: 136-41.