Thread by @sarahRbakerDPH

Trust has long been recognised as a key part of an effective doctor–patient relationship

There has been little research into the perceived trustworthiness of #dentists

We set out to adapt and test a Dentist Trust Scale onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ad…

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While it has been acknowledged that patient trust is important in #dentistry there has been no psychometrically valid way to measure this concept

This has hampered [quantitative] investigation to date

Adapting and testing a measure of #trust provides an important first step

We adapted the General Trust in Physicians Scale originally developed for the medical profession and used it to collect data from a random national sample of Australians aged 18 years or older (N=596).

We examined the extent of trust in #dentists 👇

Less trust in #dentists was associated with several unfavourable outcomes; current dental pain, reduced/delayed dental visiting, & higher dental anxiety.

People with less trust were more likely to have previously experienced personal problems with the dentist during a visit.

While most people indicated trust in #dentists approx 1 in 5 indicated lower levels as defined by a score less than the scale midpoint

But, are such cut-points meaningful to determine categories of ‘trustful’ or ‘distrustful'?

Is lack of trust the same as distrust?

Whether lower trust plays a causal role cannot be determined given the cross-sectional nature of this study. The concept of trust in #dentists is multifaceted and complex, & longitudinal/intervention studies will be required to tease out the complexity of associations over time.

There are also numerous psychological, social and contextual factors which are likely to influence trust of #dentists which were not included in this study, and have yet to be investigated in any depth. So many interesting areas for future research.

Despite these important caveats, being able to measure #trust provides an important first step in investigating associations with #dental visiting, compliance and oral health and in helping think about what can be done to rectify trust issues when they occur.

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