What Counts for the Old and Oldest Old?—An Analysis of Patient Criteria for Choosing a Dentist—Part I: Awareness and Selection Criteria, Infrastructure, and Dental Office Equipment

Ina Nitschke, Richard von Chlingensperg, Annett Schrock, Werner Hopfenmüller and Julia Jockusch
Additional contact information
Ina Nitschke: Gerodontology Section, Department of Prosthodontics and Materials Science, University of Leipzig, Liebigstraße 12, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Richard von Chlingensperg: Gerodontology Section, Department of Prosthodontics and Materials Science, University of Leipzig, Liebigstraße 12, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Annett Schrock: Gerodontology Section, Department of Prosthodontics and Materials Science, University of Leipzig, Liebigstraße 12, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Werner Hopfenmüller: Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Julia Jockusch: Gerodontology Section, Department of Prosthodontics and Materials Science, University of Leipzig, Liebigstraße 12, 04103 Leipzig, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: Utilization of a dentist is influenced by many factors. The aim of this study is to present the factors relating to how patients become aware of a dentist, according to which criteria they select the dentist, and which factors in the infrastructure, equipment of dental offices, and human interactions are important for patients. A telephone survey with 466 participants (female 59.9%) in three age groups (ag 1: 35–50 years, ag 2: 70–84 years, ag 3: >85 years) in three German cities was conducted. Data were analyzed with respect to age, gender, and place of residence. Hardly any differences in the selection of the dentist and the selection criteria applied were found between the sexes, the age groups, or the places of residence. Recommendation seems to be the major aspect regarding how patients become aware of or select their dentist ( n = 278, 65.6%), while modern technologies, e.g., the internet, play a subordinate role ( n = 31, 7.3%). The unimportance of modern technologies increases significantly with the increase in age. As age increases, factors such as infrastructure (e.g., elevator available (ANOVA p < 0.001; Bonferoni correction: significant differences between ag 1 and ag 2 p < 0.001, ag 1 and ag 3 p < 0.001, and ag 2 and ag 3 p = 0.009); accessibility by wheelchair (ANOVA p < 0.001; Bonferoni correction: significant differences between ag 1 and ag 2 p = 0.006; and ag 1 and ag 3 p < 0.001); etc.) and dental office equipment become significantly important and influence the choice of dentist, while the importance of good parking facilities significantly decreased with age (ANOVA p = 0.003; Bonferoni correction: significant differences between ag 1 and ag 3 p = 0.004, and ag 2 and ag 3 p = 0.023). With increasing age, e.g., the importance of a television in the waiting room (ANOVA p = 0.012; Bonferoni correction: significant differences between ag 1 and ag 3 p = 0.014; and ag 2 and ag 3 p = 0.011), a modern waiting room (ANOVA p < 0.001; Bonferoni correction: significant differences between ag 1 and ag 3 p < 0.001; and ag 2 and ag 3 p < 0.001) or the possibility to visualize the oral situation on a screen decreases significantly (ANOVA p < 0.001; Bonferoni correction: significant differences between ag 1 and ag 2 p < 0.001; ag 1 and ag 3 p < 0.001, and ag 2 and ag 3 p < 0.001). If dentists want to welcome and treat older people, they should adapt the accessibility, infrastructure and equipment of their practice to the needs of older people in order to be able to guarantee continuous lifelong dental care regardless of the need for assistance or care.

Keywords: ideal dentist; patients’ perceptions; awareness; selection criteria; utilization; dental service uptake; influencing factors; infrastructure; dental office; telephone survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8307/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8307/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:14:p:8307-:d:857823

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().