Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oral. Health
Sec. Oral Health Promotion
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2024.1492387
This article is part of the Research Topic Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations View all 4 articles

Motivation and experiences of dentists of primary care dental clusters in Hungary: A qualitative inquiry

Provisionally accepted
András Sztrilich András Sztrilich 1Gergő Túri Gergő Túri 2,3,4*Csilla Kaposvári Csilla Kaposvári 4,5,6Rita Teller Rita Teller 7István Vingender István Vingender 1
  • 1 Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
  • 2 Epidemiology and Surveillance Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
  • 3 Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
  • 4 Synthesis Health Research Foundation, Budapest, Hungary
  • 5 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
  • 6 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Pecs, Hungary
  • 7 Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: In recent years, dental clusters and networks have been established in primary care in many countries to improve access to services for the population and develop cooperation between providers. In Hungary, the first dental clusters were established in 2021, and currently, one-third of dental practices have already joined a cluster. The study aimed to gather and analyze early experiences regarding the motivation of participation in primary care dental clusters and experiences of implementation.Methods: Qualitative in-depth individual interviews with primary care dentists (n=21). The study was designed to meet the COREQ criteria for reporting qualitative research. The research team members defined a purposive sample of interviewees. All interviews were conducted from March to April 2024. A qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze the interview transcripts. The WHO health system framework was chosen for the theoretical framework of the analysis.Results: The motivations for joining a dental cluster were financial reasons, professional development and knowledge exchange. Lack of information and distrust were barriers to joining the dental clusters. Different professional management practices have developed within the clusters. In the interviewees' opinion, the population's access to preventive dental services has not yet changed substantially under the new operational model. The portfolio of services offered by dental clusters could be expanded to include a range of types of care. Digital health technologies and innovative solutions should be developed and widely adopted.Conclusions: In designing policy measures to promote the broader adoption of the dental cluster model, it is helpful to consider the different factors influencing dentists' decisions during implementation. Dental clusters can benefit the public and dentists, but further development of the model and improvement of the primary conditions for the operation of practices are essential.

    Keywords: dental services, cluster practice, Group Practice, Primary Care, Hungary, finance, regulation, network

    Received: 06 Sep 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sztrilich, Túri, Kaposvári, Teller and Vingender. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Gergő Túri, Epidemiology and Surveillance Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.