EDITORIAL

Dr Cristiane da Mata

Honorary Editor

What makes a good dentist?

As dentists, we need to think about what our patients value in their interactions with us.

On November 19, dentists from all over the country got together to celebrate the profession, at the Colgate Caring Dentist and Dental Team Awards. It is a rare opportunity to have your role as a dentist recognised by those who mean the most: your patients. Many congratulations to all nominees and winners. In this issue, we share the highlights of the 2022 Awards (pages 286-314). That made me reflect on the question: what makes a good dentist?

What do patients value?

We all know the importance of good manual dexterity, maintaining professional knowledge, respecting patients’ dignity and choices … but are these the attributes that patients value the most? A study conducted in the School of Dentistry in the University of Birmingham1 surveyed a sample of dentists, dental students and patients, to assess what they considered to be the most important attributes of a dentist. They created a list of attributes, with some taken from the standards set by the General Dental Council (GDC) and some generated from focus groups. Four of the top six ranked attributes selected by dentists were standards that were documented by the GDC (putting patients' interests first and acting to protect them; being trustworthy; respecting patients' dignity and choices; and, maintaining your professional knowledge and competence). This was the same for dental students, who also ranked the same four GDC guidelines within their top six attributes. Interestingly, the study found that patients only had two of the GDC attributes in their top six. Furthermore, two of the top six attributes valued by patients related to good communication and relationships (maintaining a good patient relationship and communicating effectively with patients; and, providing patients with detailed information of risks and benefits before commencing any treatment).

The value of the dentist/patient relationship

Dentistry is a very arduous profession. Working on such a confined area, the mouth, is a very demanding job both physically and mentally. It is understandable then that sometimes dentists might get so focused on what they are doing that they end up forgetting that they are actually operating on a person. Additionally, a considerable amount of patients might suffer from an “overwhelming and irrational fear of dentistry associated with devastating feelings of hypertension, terror, trepidation, and unease”. This fear is known as odontophobia, and has been diagnosed under specific phobias according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).2 Obviously, these patients in particular will benefit from an empathetic dentist, who explains procedures and gives patients some control over their overall treatment experience. For those who are not afraid of the dentist, sitting in a dentist’s chair with their mouth hanging open can feel very uncomfortable. You don’t always know what’s going on, and you may feel helpless or vulnerable. Therefore, a good patient-dentist relationship is crucial and, usually, patients will respond well to a friendly, sensitive, and sympathetic approach. I recently came across this piece, which was published in 1879 in the American Journal of Dental Science, 3 about the duties of the dentist. It is fascinating to see how some things never change, especially in relation to the important qualities a dentist must have, including honesty, patience and kindness (whereas in other areas, we have come a long way, such as gender equality in the profession – only ‘he’ is mentioned throughout this paper):

I finish my last editorial of the year by thanking the JIDA Editorial Board, our publishers Think Media, and IDA CEO Fintan and COO Elaine for supporting me throughout my first year as Honorary Editor. I would also like to thank all the researchers, clinicians and academics who have continuously contributed with high-quality articles, helping us to maintain the academic standards of the Journal. It has been a fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable journey.

Happy Christmas!

References

1. Chandarana, P.V., Hill, K.B. What makes a good dentist? A pilot study. Dent Update 2014; 41 (2): 156-158, 160. 2. Appukuttan, D.P. Strategies to manage patients with dental anxiety and dental phobia: literature review. Clin Cosmet Investig Dent 2016; 8: 35-50. doi: 10.2147/CCIDE.S63626.

PMID: 27022303; PMCID: PMC4790493. 3. Ford, W.W. The duties of the dentist. Am J Dent Sci 1879; 13 (4): 183-186.