A recent survey commissioned by marketing and insight company, Multiply, shines a fascinating light on what patients are thinking about when considering specialist dental treatments.

Multiply's 'Mind's Eye' survey was completed by specially targeted consumers drawn from a pool of over 500,000 UK consumers.

The survey found that only a minority of patients (49%) would stay loyal to their dentists when choosing specialist treatments. However, a reassuring 84% consider their own dentist as a key source of specialist treatment information.

A number of factors were identified as being important when choosing a specialist treatment. The top three were price (80%), qualifications & awards (79%) and facilities (69%). The survey also found that the availability of finance options is considered advantageous by the majority of patients.

While we see a lot of 'before and after' pictures used as part of cosmetic dentistry advertising, only 34% of patients considering treatments say they're influenced by such pictures. However, a higher percentage (48%) would like to see these types of photos to gain a better understanding of the treatment when sourcing information.

The survey also uncovers a series of key insights on topics such as reasons for not having a dentist, other specialist treatments considered, popular information sources to aid a decision, occasions that prompt treatment and barriers to seeking specialist treatment.

Readers can obtain a free copy of the full survey results by emailing insight@multiplyagency.com.