Perceptions of the dental profession: a comparative analysis through scale development

Abstract

Dentistry is a science‐based profession that has a close interaction with people and society. However, despite this close interaction, perceptions of the dental profession by both patients and dental professionals have received little research attention. The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of dentists, dental students, and patients toward the dental profession through the development and testing of the Dental Profession Perceptions Scale (DPPS). The DPPS contains a total of 17 items measured on a 5‐point Likert response scale. The DPPS showed excellent internal reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.92) and test–retest reliability (r = 0.93). Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses of the DPPS showed that dentists’, dental students’, and patients’ perceptions of the dental profession could be grouped according to ‘status’, ‘human’, and ‘scientific’ factors. There were no statistically significant differences between participants’ DPPS total or sub‐scale scores according to dental group, gender, or income. The DPPS developed can be used in future studies as a psychometrically sound measuring tool. Further studies should examine the factors that may affect the perceptions of the dental profession in different societies and cultures.

Batman or Joker? A mixed‐method approach to understanding children’s perceptions of dentists

“…Younger children tended to describe dentists as ‘scientific’, possibly because younger children are more likely to be aware of the positive aspects of dentistry. Another explanation is that a majority of the children in Turkey wish to become doctors when they grow older [1]. Thus, they may implicitly perceive dentists as doctors, who in turn are commonly perceived as scientists.…”

“…The 11‐item DTS was used to assess trust in dentists and the dental profession [2]. Responses were recorded on a 5‐point Likert scale, which ranges from ‘strongly disagree’ [1] to ‘strongly agree’ [5]. Higher scores indicate greater dental trust.…”

“…The dentist–patient relationship is an important determinant of clinical outcomes in dental practice [1,2] but it can be adversely affected by patient dental anxiety and dentists’ professional stress, especially within the domain of paediatric dentistry [3,4]. Dentists differ in their perceptions of children and this may influence how they interact with paediatric patients [5].…”

Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes of Traumatic Dental Injuries among Saudi Dental Students: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

“…The delayed treatment approach of TDIs might alter the facial appearance of children and negatively affect their daily life due to lack of social acceptance [ 24 ]. Low rates of treatment of dental trauma are observed worldwide, and this could be attributed to the fact that tooth fractures and luxation injuries are not perceived as a clinical situation which needs immediate treatment [ 25 , 26 ]. Rodd et al showed that dental students reported that the perceived level of confidence in managing dentoalveolar trauma was the least compared to various procedures [ 27 ].…”

Predictive Indicators for Managing Dental Care in Patients With Different Abilities

“…This may overwhelm the operator, creating difficulty in making a prognosis for that treatment, which may lead to the operator giving up on providing the patient with an opportunity to be treated while conscious. 10 It would therefore be ideal and timely to find a way to classify patients according to their behavior in order to predict the possibility of providing oral health care while they are conscious. This is why it is presented detailed dental treatment while conscious for patients with different abilities, based on the application of a new protocol for dividing patients, according to behavior, into Classification (A, B or C) and Horizon (I, II, II, IV or V).…”