A field study on the characteristics of service recipients and pricing in the choice of private dental services

The main purpose of this study is to determine and evaluate how pricing in dental services affects the individual's institution preference and attitude. In line with this purpose, the study is designed to consist of four sections. In the first section, national and international literature on oral and dental health and dental services is discussed. In the second section, information on the pricing process and the factors affecting individuals' choice of health facilities is presented. The third section explains the methodology of the study. In the fourth section, the findings obtained are shared. In this study, the scale developed by Çiftçi (2010) was used as a data collection tool. For this study, a questionnaire was applied to 389 volunteer individuals living in Kocaeli province, over the age of 18, who had received service from private dentistry institutions at least once. IBM SPSS Statistics 22 program was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistical methods, independent samples T-Test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis Test, Mann-Whitney U Test, Chi-square Analysis, and Correlation Analysis were used for data analysis. As a result of the surveys conducted within the scope of the study, it was determined that gender, income range, frequency of changing facilities, the importance of examination fees, and price campaigns are effective in individuals' preference for health institutions. It is seen that male individuals have higher service expectations, individuals with higher income levels care more about comfort areas, individuals who change facilities when they experience a problem care about receiving services from well-known and reliable institutions that have served for a long time, individuals who care about examination fees care about costs and service quality, and individuals who are affected by price campaigns care about changes that may occur in costs, service quality and capacity of the facility. It was also found that the frequency of changing facilities, the importance given to examination fees and the source of examination fee information differed according to gender, and the importance given to examination fees and the effect of price campaigns differed according to income range. It is observed that female individuals change institutions more frequently, attach more importance to examination fees, and receive fee information from the hospital. It is seen that individuals with low income levels attach more importance to examination fees and individuals with average income levels are more affected by price campaigns. The results of the research suggest that pricing in dental services is effective in individuals' choice of dental facilities and, accordingly, in the capacity utilization of facilities, and therefore plays an important role in individuals' access to services and thus in individuals' health and welfare. Finally, it is recommended that institutions adopt a pricing policy in line with their mission in line with the fee scale determined by the Communiqué on Health Practices and the Turkish Dental Association, observe price balance in service provision, and not accept patients above the capacity of the institution.