Perceptions of barriers towards dental appointment keeping among patients of a tertiary care setting: A mixed method exploration.

Objectives: To explore the barriers governing dental appointment keeping among patients reporting to a tertiary care setting. To assess the prevalence of missed dental appointments in a tertiary care center. Primary: To explore the barriers governing dental appointment keeping among patients reporting to a tertiary care setting. Secondary: To assess the prevalence of missed dental appointments in a tertiary care center. Methodology: The study design adopted is a sequential explanatory mixed method design; here, quantitative data collection and analysis is followed by qualitative data/analysis. The quantitative arm recorded six months of retrospective data on missed appointments in the centre. Prevalence was estimated, and descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. For the qualitative component, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted among dental health professionals and patients. Data was transcribed, and thematic content analysis was performed using NVivo software. Results: The prevalence of missed appointments in the tertiary care centre was 8.4 %. Personal/health issues (30.7 %) were noticed to be the most reported reason for missed appointments. Other causes include distance to the clinic (17.2 %), inflexible work schedule (14.7 %), transportation (12.3 %), dental anxiety (6.7 %), and economic issues (5.5 %). Qualitative data revealed the appointment system, experiences, consequences, responsible factors, management, and prevention of missed appointments in a tertiary care dental centre. Conclusion and recommendations: Multiple barriers are identified for dental appointment-keeping behavior. Missed appointments are prevalent in the study setting, as dental treatments require multiple sittings to complete. The study's findings primarily focus on a tertiary care center and may reflect reduced prevalence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tailor-made interventions are suggested for tertiary care settings to manage and prevent missed appointments, paving the way for successful health care delivery.