Assessment of Parental Satisfaction with Dental Treatment Under General Anaesthesia in Paediatric Dentistry

Purpose: To identify and compare pre-treatment and post-treatment parental expectations and satisfaction concerning their child’s dental care under general anaesthesia. Participant characteristics were also investigated. Methods: Questionnaires were administered to all parents who attended the pre-operative anaesthesia consultation (pre-treatment group) and to all parents who returned for post-operative reassessment (post-treatment group). Participants were asked to rate the importance and frequency of 27 events on a four point Likert Scale. Parents were also asked to complete a participant characteristics information form. A score was calculated for each item in the questionnaires by multiplying the item’s mean “importance rating” and the item’s mean “expectation rating” and the items were ranked by scores. Results: Complete responses were obtained from 100 parents of the pre-treatment group and from 100 parents of the post-treatment group. In each group, the highest ranked elements were those representing information and communication while the physical conditions of care tended to be least valued by the parents. The rank-order of the importance scores showed a moderate to strong positive correlation with the rank-order of the frequency scores. Conclusion: Parents placed value on good communication and provision of information with regard to dental treatment of their children under general anaesthesia.MAS