This lecture presents and analyses the study by Alraqiq et al. (JDR Clinical & Translational Research, 2025), which evaluated a health communication workshop for students at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.
In short: the workshop improved students' perception of their skills and of how prepared they were to communicate with patients.
Dr. Cortés Torres's comments
- Effective dentist-patient communication shapes diagnosis, treatment planning and informed consent, and prevents litigation.
- Communication lies at the heart of most malpractice claims.
- Some brief interventions have proved ineffective, so the dental curriculum needs a structured course.
The lecture also revisits the "E4" model of communication tasks during a visit: engage, empathise, educate and enlist the patient.