Satisfação dos pacientes com o atendimento odontológico

The objectives of this study were to understand patients’ perceptions and respect for the quality of dental services provided and to evaluate their satisfaction with professional dental surgeons, by considering the relationship between the professional and the patient, trust in use, satisfaction with the treatment performed, understanding, and intention to return for future procedures. A literary review, considering publications from 2005 to 2020 in English and Portuguese, was conducted. The following sources of information were used: Medline/PubMed and BVS/Bireme. For the survey, we used the terms ‘patient satisfaction with dentist’ and ‘patient satisfaction with dental treatment’ and the descriptors ‘dentist’, ‘dentistry’, ‘satisfaction’, ‘dissatisfaction’, and ‘healthcare’ in two languages; consulted in the plural and singular and in synonyms; and used the Boolean terms OR to distinguish them and AND to associate them. Fifty-seven articles from publications from different countries were included according to the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that people with the lowest socioeconomic status were the most dissatisfied with professionals. Satisfaction concerning their needs and the quality of care provided by the dentist was related to good interpersonal interactions. In addition, the physical characteristics of the facilities and cost of treatment could lead to dissatisfaction with dental services. We conclude that aspects of affectivity, such as trust and a good relationship with the professional and their team, increase the degree of satisfaction.