Effect of veterinarian-client-patient interactions on client adherence to dentistry and surgery recommendations in companion-animal practice.

Objective: To explore the relationship between veterinarian-client-patient interactions and client adherence to dental and surgery recommendations and to test the a priori hypotheses that appointment-specific client satisfaction and relationship-centered care are positively associated with client adherence.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Sample: A subsample of 19 companion-animal veterinarians and 83 clients from a larger observational study consisting of 20 randomly recruited veterinarians and a convenience sample of 350 clients from eastern Ontario.