An evaluation of the Dental 3D Multimedia System on dentist–patient interactions: A report from China

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of introducing the Dental 3D Multimedia (D3DM) System on dentist–patient interactions.DesignAn initial version of the D3DM developed in a series of researches was applied to the current study. A longitudinal pre–post study was setup: volunteer patients answered questionnaires at three differing intervals during the course of the study: before the introduction of the D3DM during the first visit, after the introduction of the D3DM during the first visit, and after the introduction of the D3DM during the second visit. The questionnaires related to patient satisfaction and covered three main areas of interests: (1) satisfaction with visit components, (2) comprehension about dental issues, and (3) perceptions with regard to dental office computing.ResultsCompared with baseline, patient overall satisfaction increased significantly both immediately after the introduction of the D3DM and at the second visit. Patient's satisfaction with dentist's familiarity with them, and satisfaction with dental issues generally increased. On measures of psychological communication and available time, patients generally reported that no changes occurred during visits. A majority of participants reported that they preferred the D3DM more than traditional dentist–patient communication patterns. There were no significant changes in patient perceptions of the computer use over time.Conclusionsthe D3DM appeared to have positive effects on dentist–patient communications, improving the mutual understanding between them. There were no significant negative effects directly generated from the computer intervention. Further research is needed to update the current D3DM and investigate how the system might be best implemented in the dental office environment.