Department of Preventive and Paediatric Dentistry, University of Greifswald, Germany.
Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2020 Mar;21(1):74-79. doi: 10.23804/ejpd.2020.21.01.15.
Choosing a paediatric dentist is an important decision for parents. The mechanisms of this selection have hardly been studied. This study assesses the factors influencing parents' decision choosing a specialised paediatric dentist for their child.
A questionnaire consisting of 30 items that could potentially be relevant to decision-making was sent nationwide in Germany to paediatric dentists to be given to the parents of new patients (n=450). Eighty-nine out of 102 returned questionnaires (response rate=22.7%) were evaluated.
Parent's and children's experience in previous dental visits played an "important" or "very important" role in choosing a paediatric dentist (78.8% and 62.2%, respectively). The most frequently mentioned recommendation for the paediatric dentist was by friends and acquaintances (86.5%). Recommendations from other dentists were often included in the decision making (60.7%), while specialist journals or Internet portals were less important for the respondents (15% and 19%, respectively). Most of the parents used Internet search engines and the practice website to obtain information.
Previous negative experience with general dentists was the main reason for visiting a specialised paediatric dentist. Recommendations came mostly from the close social environment and the qualifications were the most important feature for choosing a paediatric dentist.
为孩子选择儿童牙医是父母的重要决策。对于这种选择的机制，我们几乎没有进行过研究。本研究评估了影响父母为孩子选择专业儿童牙医决策的因素。
我们在德国全国范围内向儿童牙医发送了一份包含 30 个可能与决策相关的项目的问卷，让他们分发给新患者的家长（n=450）。在 102 份返回的问卷中，有 89 份（回应率=22.7%）进行了评估。
父母和孩子在之前的牙科就诊中的体验在选择儿童牙医方面发挥了“重要”或“非常重要”的作用（分别为 78.8%和 62.2%）。受访者最常提到的对儿童牙医的推荐来自朋友和熟人（86.5%）。来自其他牙医的推荐经常被纳入决策（60.7%），而专业期刊或互联网门户对受访者来说则不那么重要（分别为 15%和 19%）。大多数父母使用互联网搜索引擎和诊所网站获取信息。
之前与普通牙医的负面就诊体验是就诊儿童牙医的主要原因。推荐大多来自亲密的社交环境，而资质是选择儿童牙医的最重要特征。
