Objective: To investigate satisfaction with dental care received at the last dental appointment among adolescents and to analyse factors influencing their satisfaction scores.
Method: A total of 1146 subjects (mean age 15.8 years) attending secondary schools in Kampala (urban, n = 591) and Lira (rural, n = 555) completed structured questionnaires at school in 2001.
Results: A total of 63% and 75% of Kampala and Lira students, respectively, reported attendance to dental clinics during the previous 2 years. The corresponding rates of students who confirmed satisfaction with oral health care services received were 73 and 77. In a logistic regression model, the students of Kampala who attended a dentist more than once, had no painful experience at the visit, evaluated their oral condition positively, were satisfied with the dentist's communication and dentist's information, were more likely to be satisfied with the oral health services received (OR = 1.7, 2.2, 4.1, 2.9 and 4.9, respectively). Regarding rural students, being satisfied with oral condition, dentist's communication and dentist's information were associated with higher odds of being satisfied with oral health care services (OR = 2.9, 1.9 and 2.3, respectively).
Conclusion: Inter-personal interaction with the dentist is a key determinant in establishing satisfaction with dental care among urban as well as rural adolescents.