This lecture analyses the review by Ho et al. (Dentistry Journal, 2025) on dentist-patient communication in quality care.
In short: clear, empathetic communication improves patient understanding, treatment adherence and clinical outcomes, and reduces errors.
The benefits it describes
- More efficient and accurate diagnosis.
- More confidence and less occupational stress for the dentist.
- Lower risk of complaints and litigation.
- More mutual trust, and less anxiety and fear in the patient.
Dr. Cortés Torres's comments
Trust between people rests on four pillars: respect, good communication, knowledge and transparency. He distinguishes effective communication, focused on the message being understood, from assertive communication, focused on expressing yourself honestly and respectfully, neither attacking nor submitting.
He recalls the Feynman method: if you cannot explain a complex idea simply, you have not understood it well.