Compliance with the patients’ rights charter in private dental clinics in Rasht, Iran: a cross-sectional study

People’s health directly affects their abilities and progress in society. Oral and dental diseases have a profound impact on people’s health and, consequently, society’s health. Raising people’s awareness and increasing the costs of health services have led to patients paying more attention to their rights. We examined 218 clients of private dental offices in Rasht city in this cross-sectional analytical study. IBM SPSS Statistics version 16 software analyzed the obtained data after distributing and completing the questionnaires. The average score of total compliance with the patient rights charter in Rasht dental offices was 76.2%, which is at the optimal level. The provision of health services based on respect for the patient’s privacy (91.3%) and optimal receipt of health services (89.7%) achieved the highest level. We found no significant relationship between the total score and the patients’ age, gender, education level, marital status, and place of residence. The level of compliance with the charter of patients’ rights in private dental offices in Rasht is generally favorable, but with gaps. The lack of a statistically significant relationship between age, gender, education level, marital status, and place of residence of patients with the total score of compliance with the charter of patient rights indicates that the dentist does not discriminate between patients, which is a favorable condition.