Dental Care Utilization and Satisfaction of Residential University Students

AIM: The objective of this study was to provide information on the level of utilization and satisfaction of residential university students with the dental services provided by the dental clinic of a teaching hospital. VOLUNTEERS AND MATERIAL: A stratified sampling technique was used to recruit volunteers from the outpatient clinic of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Information was collected by a self-administered questionnaire composed of questions that measure the level of utilization and satisfaction with the dental services provided. Questionnaires were provided to 650 randomly chosen students residing in the University hostels. There were 39 refusals, and 6 incomplete questionnaires were discarded. This left a sample size of 605 volunteers. RESULTS: Forty seven students (7.8%) indicated that they visited the dental hospital within the last 12 months. Males and females utilized the dental services equally, and utilization increased with age and the number of years spent on campus. Anticipation of painful dental treatment, high dental charges, long waiting times and being too busy for a dental visit were cited as the most important impediments to seeking dental treatment. Females expressed greater satisfaction with the services. CONCLUSION: Dental service utilization among the students was found to be low. Oral health awareness campaigns, improving the quality of the services, and shortening the waiting time are expected to increase service utilization and satisfaction.