• Chanchai Hosanguan
• Napaporn Wannasa
• Yuvathida Doungthongsok
• Suwapat Boonjareon

Objective The purposes of this research were twofold : 1) to study images of dentists as viewed by adult population in Bangkok, and 2) to identify factors affecting these images.

Materials and methods Self-administered questionnaires were sent to 849 parents of schoolchildren grade 1-4 at Wat Plabplachai school. Twenty-five items were used to measure images of dentists on 4 dimensions: communication, dentist personality, skill of dentists and dental practice/ cost. Associations between images of dentists and other factors were analyzed by means of non-parametric tests.

Results Results revealed that the sample of parents of primary schoolchildren held positive images of dentists. Mean scores were equally weighted on the following dimensions: skill of dentists, personality and communication. Several factors were identified as relating to dentists’ images, including subjects’ gender, age, level of education and recency since last dental visit. In addition, subjects attending private facilities showed more favorable images of dentists than those attending public facilities (p=0.014).

Conclusion It is concluded that urban residents nowadays have positive images of dentists. These images were associated with certain socioeconomic factors and related to dental care utilization.

(CU Dent J. 2004;27:33-46)