Patient satisfaction with complete dentures received from an urban district hospital

Abstract

To assess some of the factors that may contribute to patient satisfaction with a complete denture service provided by a district hospital in South Africa. The participants were patients who had received mucosa borne complete dentures at least one year previously. A questionnaire recorded demographics and treatment details either in person or telephonically. All patients were also asked to score a variety of factors related to satisfaction on a validated visual analogue scale. Associations were sought between patient demographics, treatment procedures and satisfaction. Sample size analysis required a sample size of 180 to detect at least a medium effect size, and 76 to detect large effect sizes. However, it was not possible to increase the sample size beyond 157 in the time available. Several associations were observed that were statistically significant, but most were of small effect. Even though 75% were upset at having lost their teeth, 64% reported that they had not minded wearing dentures. Overall, there were high levels of satisfaction, irrespective of the treatment procedures used. There were few meaningful associations between patient characteristics and satisfaction scores. It was clear that the patients had adapted well to their dentures. Patient satisfaction and patient adaptability are subject to many factors, and how patients cope, and what factors help remains unknown. It is clear the provision of this complete denture service in the public sector improved these patients’ quality of life and that patients can adapt to mucosa-borne dentures provided in a public setting.