Dental Service Providers Research Articles

An investigation of male attitudes toward marketing communications from dental service providers.

To identify the process by which males aged 25-34 who do not display regular attendance behaviour are exposed to, attend, comprehend and are persuaded by communications by general dental practitioners. Focus groups (of 1 hour duration) comprising 6-7 members, conducted over a period of 18 months, discussing five open-ended questions or statements. The Manchester Metropolitan University, Crewe+Alsager Faculty, Cheshire, UK during 1995-96. 116 non-attending males (aged between 25-34 years) taken from professional lecturers (17%), full-time (50%) and part-time students (33%) with varying income and education levels. A theoretical linear-sequential model related to patients behaviour was considered in relation to the timing of communications but this was not tested. Views of group members concerning their attitudes, perceptions and experience of communications from GDPs. Informative oral communications were considered as important during treatment. Most written communications were cited as impersonal, health posters were perceived as negative being targeted at children only, general media articles on dentistry were not very evident or interesting, however, a practice brochure was viewed as a handy communication tool. General dental practitioners should look carefully at all of their own methods of communication with patients (from oral to written) and consider the value of their marketing and all areas of communications, especially when considering non-attenders and males (aged 25-34).

Consumer behaviour and the purchasing of dental services: Influences on selection and evaluation of health care services

AbstractThis paper examines the process of interaction between consumers and providers of dental services in terms of the key selection and evaluation criteria employed by consumers. Focusing on the United Kingdom, it examines the impact of changes in both pricing and provision on the utilisation and evaluation of dental services. Based on a questionnaire survey of dental patients, in the context of the evolving body of literature concerned with consumer behaviour in respect of services, the paper attempts to improve the current understanding of the key factors shaping consumer choice in respect of professional services. Specifically, it argues that the highly complex nature of professional services impacts on patterns of consumer behaviour, resulting in the relationship between the individual service professional and the consumer being the focus of consumer evaluation. This in turn has significant implications for the effective marketing of such professional services.

Accessibility of and client satisfaction with dental services in Melbourne

Public dental clinics play an important role in delivering dental services to Australian adults on low incomes. Our objective was to compare the accessibility of and client satisfaction with the two main types of public dental service providers in Victoria and with private practice services. Clients attending the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, Northcote Community Health Centre and private practices in Melbourne were surveyed. The hospital's clients faced the greatest ecological and organisational obstacles, while private clients faced the greatest financial and desirability obstacles. Community centre clients faced fewer ecological and organisational obstacles than hospital clients, with the exception of long waiting times. Private practice clients were more satisfied overall, and had better continuity of care. Private practice clients were more satisfied with access, availability and convenience than community centre clients, who in turn were more satisfied than hospital clients. There was no distinction between private practice and hospital clients on satisfaction with 'pain and treatment', but community centre clients were less satisfied. There was no significant difference between client group evaluations of interaction with the dentist. Regardless of the effects of the Commonwealth Dental Health Program, distinctions between various service types and public clinic types are likely to remain, because of their different settings. The contrast between a central hospital and a community health centre, in terms of the ecological and organisational obstacles to care, points to the advantages of putting dental services close to the communities they serve.

Factors Influencing the Choice of a New Dental Service Provider

This research investigated the influence of demographic characteristics, the importance of risk consequences, likelishood of using a variety of risk reduction techniques, and the reduction of perceived risk upon the selection of a new tradional or nontradiaional dental service provider. The findings suggest that there is a unique market segment for traditional providers and for nontraditional providers. Each of the variable categories was found to differentiate patrons of the two provider types.

What Should Dental Public Health Be in the Future?

Many factors contribute to a successful dental public health program. Each of these must be developed and constantly cultivated to ensure the continuation and improvement of the program. In looking to the future, dental public health must remember its commitment to the community as its patient and its long history of public/private partnership. To best serve the citizens of the state, participants in this partnership must carefully consider which activities are appropriate for the different providers of dental services.

The providers of dental services.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of providers in dental services in Australia. The relative increase of dentists has been at a greater rate than that of the population. There has been a marked increase in the number of operating dental auxiliaries employed as school dental therapists in government services and of self-employed denturists. Employment of dental hygienists by private dental practitioners is still limited. The active dentist workforce is approximately 80 per cent of the number of dentists on the registers and about 82 per cent of the active dentist workforce has been maintained with an increase in the proportion of women and of specialists. The number of dental graduates from Australian universities appears adequate to meet population increases and the loss of dentists from the registers. A very high rate of new registration of overseas dentists has created some oversupply in the private practice sector. Emphasis should be placed on the Australian dental schools for the continuing supply of dental graduates, specialist and continuing education to meet the needs of the Australian community. There is an urgent need for co-ordination of relevant registration authorities through national schedules and for the collection of information concerning the disposition of the Australian dental workforce to enable continuing evaluation of present and future workforce requirements.