Community Awareness to Services in King Abdulaziz University Dental Hospital

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to measure the public community awareness to dental services rendered at of King Abdulaziz University dental hospital (KAUDH), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Methods: A 32-item questionnaire was distributed to a convenient random sample of 600 participants among different geographic areas in Jeddah. Questions concerning socio-demographic data, knowledge and awareness of dental services at KAUDH, in addition to the reasons why patients are not seeking treatment at the KAUDH if they know about it were included.
Results: This study showed that the 463 participants responded fully to the questionnaire, were in the age of 4-68 years old (Mean 33.07+/- 12.6), 55.5% Non-Saudi, 90.1% males only 34.2% of them has finished high school or with a Bachelor degree. 65.9% of participants live in apartments and 88.7% are renting, 57% are married, 94.8% with one wife.
While 394 (85%) of the participants heard about KAUDH, 286 (72.5%) were treated there and 186 (65.6%) still come to KAU dental clinics, 30.6% of them are treated by interns. Results showed a significant correlation (p=0.017) between patient satisfaction and treatment provider, 42% of patients who rated their experience as good at KAUDH were treated by interns
However for those patients who no longer seek treatment at KAU, 13.9% complained that there is a long period between appointments and 10.9% said that the waiting time is too long
Conclusions: Results showed that not all the community of Jeddah are aware of the KAUDH services. There are also some factors limiting the patients from continuing their treatment at KAUDH. Patients who are treated at KAUDH have some complaints regarding the services rendered that require some improvements to increase the flow of patients to the dental hospital