Your right to choose: parents' preferences toward a pediatric dental center

Abstract

Background Timely dental care during childhood can effectively prevent many dental issues and their potential long-term complications.

Aim To identify factors associated with the selection of clinics providing dental care and services for children from parental perspective.

Design method A thematic qualitative study was conducted, involving parents of children aged 6–12 years who visited pediatric dentists in public/private dental centers in Isfahan city from December 2022 to July 2023. Twenty semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted in private rooms within the selected centers. A thematic analysis method was used to analyze interview transcripts.

Results Seven main theme and 20 sub-themes were identified. They included accessibility (geographical location, proximity to residential area, parking), familiarity with pediatric dental center (recommendations from other dentists, recommendations from other patients, previous visits), amenities (general amenities, visual amenities), appointment arrangements (center's working hours, waiting queue, appointment booking), treatment cost (tariffs of dental care and services, installment plans, contracts with insurance companies), quality of medical equipment (supervision over treatment, quality of dental materials, diagnostic equipment, adherence to hygiene protocols), and staff (administrative and treatment staff). Treatment cost (tariffs of dental care and services, installment plans, contracts with insurance companies).

Conclusion Parents consider various aspects of pediatric dental centers to select ones that best in line with their priorities and needs. Specifically, parents focus on both financial aspects of pediatric treatments—and non-financial considerations.