Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 5

The Federation of Canadian Dental Students Associations (FCDSA) has created a new resource to improve communication with patients who do not speak one of Canada’s official languages. Dental Students Mobilize for Better Patient Communication E very dentist or dental student has encountered a patient who may struggle with speaking or understanding the language in which care is provided. The diversity of Canadian society continues to grow, creating more communication challenges for dentists and the dental team. Recognizing these challenges, the FCDSA has created a new communication tool to help address the issue. “It is something that you are encountering on a daily basis and especially when you become a clinical dental student, you start seeing patients coming from all walks of life to your chair,” says Nima Laghapour Lighvan, president of FCDSA. Created in 2012 and officially incorporated in 2017 as a non- profit association, the FCDSA strives to be the voice of dental students in Canada by representing them and offering useful solutions to their daily issues. Recognizing the cultural diversity within Canada’s dental schools, the FCDSA launched this communication tool project as one of its first initiatives. The overall goal is to avoid communication problems or misunderstandings during the care process. According to Statistics Canada, in 2016, nearly 2% of the population was unable to hold a conversation in French or English. Yet these are also people in need of oral care and treatment who also deserve individualized and independent care. Formanyyears, theFCDSAadvocacycommitteewasworking to develop this tool to help dental students communicate with patients. Initially, the tool was developed solely based on the language skills of FCDSA board members. The FCDSA language toolkit now has 7 languages available: Arabic, Farsi, French, Greek, Mandarin, Romanian and Spanish. There was a call for volunteers and many participants gave freely of their time to work on its development. “Now at some dental schools, we ask what languages the students speak or understand and we keep a list on file,” says Laghapour Lighvan. “These students can then be consulted and recorded when needed to provide our patients with the best possible care.” According to Statistics Canada, in 2016, nearly2%of thepopulationwasunable to hold a conversation in French or English. Yet these are also people in need of oral care and treatment. Nima Laghapour Lighvan, FCDSApresident 16 | 2022 | Issue 5