Abstract Introduction Assessing the quality of service provided by dental clinics is crucial for improving patient care. The present study aims to compare the quality of dental care services and take into account factors related to patient satisfaction across private and public dental clinics in Ahvaz, Iran. Methods The cross-sectional research was carried out in the public and private dental clinics located in Ahvaz, Iran. The study's sample size was determined using the Cochran formula and consisted of 196 individuals aged 18 years and above, who were seeking treatment at dental care centers. Participants were randomly selected from the list of patients unless they were unwilling to participate in the study. The data for this study was collected using SERVQUAL tool to assess the gap quality of dental care services. Results In this study, the majority of the participants were female (61.73%) with a mean age of 35.45 years (SD = 12.52). Most participants were married (68.88%), employed (41.33%), and highly educated (56.41%). Significant differences in service quality were found between private and public dental clinics. Public clinics displayed lower scores across all aspects measured by SERVQUAL, particularly in tangibles and reliability. Conclusion Our study showed that the various factors influencing dental care quality significantly. By investigating these factors and their interactions, further research can inform targeted interventions aimed at narrowing the quality gap between clinic types and ultimately enhancing patient outcomes and satisfaction. Graphical Abstract