ABSTRACT
To determine the patient's preferences for the attire, general behavior and hygienic practices of the dentists during treatment and its influence on patient-dentist relationship in Karachi, Pakistan. This cross sectional Study was conducted using a questionnaire comprising of eleven closed ended questions related to perception for attire, behavior and hygienic practices of the dentist during the treatment of the patients. The study was conducted between August to September, 2008. A total of 100 patients participated in the study; ages were between 16 years to 65 years. The questions were asked from the patients by the dental students of a medical college. Demographic data were obtained together with the details to know the perception of the patients visiting for their treatment to the dental surgeons in different hospitals and private clinics of various towns of Karachi. Some degree of privacy was attempted while administering the questionnaire. Male subjects were interviewed by the male students, while female participants were interviewed by the female students. The data was entered and analyzed through SPSS Version 13.0. Patients showed significant preferences towards dentists with formal dress code, covered hair, use of perfume, use of hand gestures only to explain important points, wearing white coat, identity badge, mask and eyewear. Nobody liked the dentist not using eyewear and mask. It was also observed that 63% of the patients were of the opinion to have their surgeons to adopt sterilization of the equipments before going for the dental procedures. With regards to the general outlook for male dentist; significant preference was observed for clean shave. Eighty eight percent of the patients showed their liking towards friendly expressions of the dentists to improve their confidence in seeking the treatment from them Patients prefer the dentists with professional image, formal attire and short hair. The use of white coat, identity badge, mask, protective eyewear, perfume, and appropriate hand gestures and most importantly the friendly expression of the dentist were highly favored by the patients. The educated patients required their surgeons to adopt sterilization of the equipments before going for the dental procedures. Less educated people were not aware of the importance of sterilization of instruments. A greater sense of awareness regarding sterilization needs to be created even in the less educated people to avoid serious infections like hepatitis