Marketing of Dentistry: Role of Digital Media in the Patients’ Choice of Oral Health Care Facilities in Andhra Pradesh State, India
Sudhakar Vundavalli, Votturu Kartheek, Gadiboyina Geetha, Meignana Arumugham Indiran, S. Dharmashree, Manish Kumar, Ravikanth ManyamAbstract
Background:
What really makes any new patients’ to choose their dentist/dental practice has been evolved from last two decades.
Objective:
To assess the role of digital media in the patients’ choice of oral health care facilities in an urban and adjacent rural communities in Andhra Pradesh state, India.
Materials and Methods:
This cross-sectional study used a pretested questionnaire for data collection. Participants were selected from one urban and two rural areas of Tadepalligudem mandal, Andhra Pradesh state, India using stratified cluster sampling methods. Data were collected with a selfadministered questionnaire which has 18 questions and investigators readout the questionnaire for the illiterate participants. Descriptive statistics were calculated initially, followed by bivariate analysis with Mann–Whitney and Chi-square tests.
Results:
Data from 710 participants were included in the final analysis. More than half (58%) of the participants used digital media while choosing dentist/dental practice followed by suggestion of friends and family (17.8%) and refereed by their general physician (11.83%). Among the people who used digital media, 27.75% gave importance for the customer reviews, followed by professional qualification of the dentist (18.59%) and the distance or travel time to reach the dentist (12.54%). One-third (34.8%) of them indicated that they solely rely on digital media in choosing dentist/dental practice and others relied on more than one method.
Conclusions:
Digital media plays an important role in improving patients’ base. Dental practices should acknowledge its importance and incorporate in their marketing strategies.