Patient satisfaction from the perspective of the ethical-professional values in the dentist-patient relationship

Introduction: professional ethics allows for characterization of the human behavior from an affirmative or negative perspective in which the ethical and social values make possible a more effective relationship among dentists and their professional environment. Objective: to identify the level of satisfaction in patients treated in both dental offices, "Centro Odontológico Integral" manages by Dr. Guillermo Méndez and "Design Dental" manages by Dr. Freddy Santillán, in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador. Method: a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out with the use of a questionnaire to 44 patients of these dental offices; the variables analyzed were as follow: interpersonal relationship satisfaction, patient satisfaction with quality of care, evaluation scale on dental care and ideal waiting time in the office after receiving dental treatment. Results: the 89% of respondents perceived a friendly and favorable relationship with dentists. Concerning patients’ satisfaction on quality of care, 41% considered that they had created an interpersonal relationship with their dentist, but the other 59% expressed the opposite. As for the evaluation of dental care, 64% gave it a maximum of 10 points. Twenty-five percent of the patients agreed that the ideal waiting time for consultation should be 20 minutes and another high percentage, 48%, considered that the ideal waiting time should be 30 minutes. Conclusions: more than half of patients reported that they were satisfied with the treatment provided by dentists