L'Orthodontie Française
MENUGoogle Reviews: a descriptive study of 700 orthodontic practices Volume 92, issue 1, Mars 2021
- Key words: Social Networking, Judgments, Humans, Orthodontics, Satisfaction, Internet, Clinical Competence, France
- DOI : 10.1684/orthodfr.2021.34
- Page(s) : 167-76
- Published in: 2021
Introduction
As it is the case in the medical sector, Google reviews of orthodontic practices are on the rise.
Objective
The main objective of the study was to describe the internet ratings and opinions on orthodontic practices in France. The second objective was to test the factors that influence the number of reviews and the overall rating.
Material and Method
We conducted a descriptive study on Google reviews, on 700 specialists in orthodontics in mainland France.
Results
87% of offices got at least one review on Google. An office receives an average of 9.6 comments; 63.6% of reviews are associated with comments; 10.8% of opinions receive a response from practitioners. The average number of stars is 4.1 (+/- 0.7) out of 5. Four types of comments are significant in the context of a multivariate analysis: monetary considerations, the level of hygiene felt, temporal parameters (punctuality…) and the setting of the office. Opinions regarding therapeutic assessments, even though they are the most frequent, only concern 40% of the comments. The socio-economic level of the city, the population density and the concentration of practices are not explanatory factors for the number of reviews or the average rating. A comment related to punctuality or fees lowers the grade.
Discussion
Opinions are given spontaneously and do not necessarily reflect patient satisfaction.
Conclusion
A comparative study of the patient actual satisfaction with the average rating on Google could be interesting.