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Practice success is defined across the four ‘dimensions’ of oral health, patient satisfaction, job satisfaction and financial profit. It is suggested that the ‘secret’ of success in dental practice is to make patient (customer) satisfaction the primary focus. Not a very earth shattering or surprising ‘secret’ perhaps! This is hardly a new idea, and not a concept restricted to dental practice. This principle applies to all businesses. This series of articles reviews evidence from across a broad spectrum of publications: from populist business publications through to refereed scientific papers, this ‘secret’ seems to be confirmed. The evidence for which aspects of our service are most important in achieving patient satisfaction (and therefore success) is explored.
Clinical Relevance: Good oral health outcomes for patients are defined as the primary purpose of dental practice and, therefore, an essential dimension of success. The link between positive patient perceptions of general care and their own oral health to practice success is explored.
Article
In the previous three articles we have established that the secret of success is to focus on patient satisfaction. We examined the evidence suggesting a direct link between perceived service quality and profitability. We also examined the close relationship between employee satisfaction and patient satisfaction. Further, we established that success in respect of our primary purpose (oral health) will be indicated partly by patient satisfaction. In addition to this, two studies have suggested a positive link between patient satisfaction with the service they receive and their oral health.
Zimmerman1 found a direct relationship between patient satisfaction with their dental visits, their compliance with oral health advice and actual improvement in dental health. In this regard, Golletz and co-workers2 found that those with a poor self-assessment of their dental health rated their satisfaction with dental care lower than those with higher self-rated dental health. A total of 895 mothers of school-age children with low income in Seattle (Washington State, USA) were interviewed using the Dental Satisfaction Questionnaire (DSQ) developed by Davis and Ware.3 The researchers stated:
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