Do people trust dentists? Development of the Dentist Trust Scale.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to adapt a measure of trust in physicians generally to trust in dentists and to assess the reliability and validity of the measure. METHODS: Questionnaire data were collected from a simple random sample of 596 Australian adults. The 11-item General Trust in Physicians Scale (Hall et al., 2002) was modified to apply to dentists. RESULTS: The Dentist Trust Scale (DTS) had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and exploratory factor analysis revealed a single factor solution. Lower DTS scores were associated with less trust in the dentist last visited, having previously changed dentists due to unhappiness with the care received, currently having dental pain, usual visiting frequency, dental avoidance, and with past experiences of discomfort, gagging, fainting, embarrassment and personal problems with the dentist. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of people appear to exhibit trust in dentists generally. The DTS shows promising reliability and validity evidence.