Purpose:

To compare the perception of patients who attend the services of the Stomatological Teaching and Service Clinics (STSC) regarding functional quality through the Avedis Donabedian and SERVPERF methodologies.

Methodological Design:

A descriptive, cross-sectional, observational and prolective study was carried out to compare how patients perceive the quality of the service at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla’s (BUAP) Teaching and Service Stomatological Clinics (TSEC) at the Faculty of Stomatology (FEs), based on the Donabedian and SERVPERF methodologies. An instrument called PERCACEL structured in three parts was designed and applied to a stratified random sample of 400 patients: a) general data; b) Donabedian's evaluation methodology; and c) SERVPERF methodology.

Results:

According to the results obtained, the percentage of perception of quality with the Donabedian instrument was lower at 8.14%, compared to those obtained through the SERVPERF methodology which registered 8.51%.

Research limitations:

Both validity and reliability of the instrument were high. However, its sensitivity depends on the identification of the service processes to be evaluated, in each of the dimensions of the two methodologies to ensure their reliability.

Findings:

Both instruments can be used in different services, both public and private, and in different fields, including stomatology.