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15
Issue 2
|
2017
|
CDA
at
W
ork
When I reflect on the many issues explored during my time as
President of the Ontario Dental Association, one theme comes to
mind: the importance of respect and trust.
This is true not only with colleagues or in our personal lives, but in our practices. The way
we treat patients can have lasting effects; when we show them we care about them as
individuals, share information with them and give them an opportunity to ask questions,
we are creating an atmosphere of trust that can result in a healthy, long-term, dentist-patient
relationship.
The payback for good communication is priceless.
Too often patients view dentists as business people who make decisions based on financial
concerns rather than on a patient’s health care needs. Here’s some food for thought:
•
Very few patients know what a clinical dental examination entails, or that the dentist is
a medical practitioner and the only member of the dental team who can diagnose and
communicate the condition of the oral cavity. (Most patients believe that the dentist
performs a “checkup” that focuses on teeth, gums or is simply checking the work of the
dental hygienist.)
•
Patients feel that dentists don’t spend enough time with them, which would explain why
patients often don’t understand the value of preventive care or the importance of the
dentist’s recommended treatment plan. We need to spend more chairside time with our
patients.
MONEYMATTERS:
Why Talking
to Your PatientsMakes Sense
Harry Höediono
DDS, BSc
Dr. Höediono of
Kitchener, Ontario,
served as president of
the Ontario Dental
Association in 2011-12.
Your patients need to know that the procedures you recommend
will benefit their health and that you are their trusted advisor.
Explaining the benefits of treatment to our patients adds value. Patients appreciate the time we spend with them on their care. The
following has been reprinted from a previous article in Ontario Dentist, the Journal of the Ontario Dental Association. It discusses
communication skills and ways to talk to your patients about their oral health care needs. Financial discussions can be difficult. While
our approaches might be different, this article highlights some of the important points to address when discussing the cost of care.
– Dr. Linda Blakey, CDA Board Member and Chair, Trust and Value Working Group