14 J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol Vol 28:14–23; 30 August 2021 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. ©2021 Saquib Ahmed Shaikh, et al. Journal of Population Therapeutics & Clinical Pharmacology ORIGINAL ARTICLE DOI: 10.15586/jptcp.2021.v28i1.828 Arabian undergraduates perceptions regarding barriers among the geriatric patients for failing to keep dental appointments: A cross-sectional study Saquib Ahmed Shaikh 1, *, Sami Aldhuwayhi 1 , Angel Mary Joseph 1 , Vinutha Varadharaju Kumari 1 , Abdul Rehman Ahmed Khan 2 , Amar Thakare 1 , Mohnish Zulfikar Manva 3 , Farheena Ustad 4 , Saleem Shaikh 4 , Mohammed Ziauddeen Mustafa 1 , Sreekanth Kumar Mallineni 2 1 Department of Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Restorative Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Saudi Arabia 4 Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Saudi Arabia *Corresponding author: Saquib Ahmed Shaikh, Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, Saudi Arabia – 11952. Email: s.shaikh@mu.edu.sa Submitted: 25 April 2021; Accepted: 16 June 2021; Published: 30 August 2021 ABSTRACT Background: Regular visits to the health care providers can develop a relationship that can extend beyond the physical health alone as the patient is transiting towards older age, adapting to changes in physical health, emotional health, and social connections. Apart from limiting access to health care services, the attitudes, beliefs, comfort level of the treating doctors towards the geriatric patients can motivate or demo- tivate them to access dental care. Aim: To explore the Saudi Arabian undergraduate students perception of geriatric patients and identify potential barriers that prevent the utilization of their dental appointment. Methods: A close-ended questionnaire with one question and eight reasons was administered to the ffth year clinical students. The students were requested to specify their agreement with each question on a 5-point Likert scale. Among the barriers presented, each reason’s approval was expressed as the percent- age of the total number of responses. In addition, the gender comparison of mean scores was made, and an independent sample t-test was used to analyze the statements agreed by the students. All analyses were