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Introduction: In Nepal, people have a lower record of dental visits, a higher rate of dental disease with loss of teeth at an earlier age compared to developed countries. There are a lot of barriers that prevent people from seeking early dental care.

Objective: To identify the reasons for the delay in seeking dental treatment among patients visiting a dental hospital in Kathmandu.

Materials and Method: In this questionnaire-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study using nonprobability convenience sampling, 354 patients visiting the Outpatient Department of Oral Medicine at Nepal Medical College were included. Patients 18 years or older with oral symptoms lasting for one month or more were examined between 2021 July 12 and 2021 October 6. Descriptive statistics were analysed using SPSS v.20 and expressed as mean, frequency, and percent.

Result: Among the reasons for the late presentation to the dentist, a majority with 114 (22.14%) participants thought that symptoms would resolve on their own, 109 (21.17%)  had dental fear, 87 (16.89%) had time constraints, 61 (11.84%) tried self-medications, 56 (10.87%) were unaware of possible solutions to their problem, for 27 (5.24%) the distance to the dental clinic was far, 20 (3.88%) had previous bad dental experience and 20 (3.88%) participants had financial constraints.

Conclusion: Lack of dental knowledge and fear of the dentist are the main reasons because of which patients do not seek dental treatment. It is recommended to raise dental awareness and educate people about the advantages of early dental treatment.

Appointment; barriers; dental; time-to-treatment.