ABSTRACT
Background: In the dental field, patient satisfaction played a very important role, specifically finding the strength and weakness in the dental clinic. It also assists in improving the quality of treatment as well as better future planning of treatment. Objective: The present study was planned and conducted with an objective to assess the level of satisfaction among patients attending the outpatient department in a private dental hospital. Materials and Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, and questionnaire-based study was undertaken in a private dental hospital. Patients of age more than 18 years and of both gender attending outdoor patient department were included in the study. For the purpose of this survey, consecutive sampling was carried out until a sample size of 200 was achieved. The patient satisfaction was assessed using dental satisfaction survey 2002 – questionnaire. Results: Among 31 items, none of the respondents indicated strong agreement or disagreement for 30 items, only for one item, item no. 14 regarding the explanation of cost, respondents indicated strong agreement (106, 53.00%). More than 40% of respondents indicated strong agreement (indicating satisfaction) with the statement for seven items. None of the items have <10% of respondents indicated strong agreement. The respondents expressing strong disagreement (indicating dissatisfaction) with any statement was <10% on 23 of the 31 items. The inter-item reliability of all 31 items of the questionnaire was tested, and the overall satisfaction scale (all items 1–31) produced a high Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.92. Conclusion: Patients’ satisfaction was observed not only for overall satisfaction but also in all sub-scales – context, content, outcome, cost, and facilities.