Consumers' choice of dentist by self-perceived need

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how limited care patients and comprehensive care patients differ in terms of consumers' behavior in the dentist selection process, in order to help healthcare providers and marketers better promote their practice depending on their patient type. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of 1,150 dental school faculty private practice patients who recently chose their dentist was conducted and 221 responded. The respondents were divided to comprehensive care patients (n = 120) and limited care patients (n = 90) by self-perceived need. Findings - The comprehensive care patients were younger and more likely to be highly educated, have a healthcare related profession, and have private dental insurance (p < 0.001). The comprehensive care patients were more likely to use information sources such as clinic website, the internet, and the insurance directory (p < 0.05), while the limited care patients were more likely to use other dentists. Comprehensive care patients put more value on attributes such as, the dentist is in my insurance network and convenient physical location (p < 0.05). In conclusion, comprehensive care patients and limited care patients differed significantly in characteristics and how and why they chose their dentist. Originality/value - Healthcare marketers can use this study's findings to better promote their practice by selecting appropriate communication channels and focus on attributes that consumers value the most. It is important to apply different strategies to different consumer groups.