Go digital with patient-centric dentistry

Dentistry today is designed with patients at its very core. Every step of the treatment journey is tailored to optimise the patient experience and facilitate the best possible outcome for them. This means enhancing everything from the clinical result to treatment efficiency and patient comfort throughout. Although the concept can mean slightly different things to different practitioners, most will agree that it requires high-quality clinical dentistry, effective communication and engagement, an ergonomically–designed premises and the right digital technology.

What is patient-centred care?

Already used widely across dentistry and the wider healthcare sector, patient-centred care may be described as care that meets the individual preferences, needs and values of the patient being treated. Many define it as seeing the patient as a person, not just a clinical case, with consideration for their dental, systemic, mental and emotional health, as well as their lifestyle behaviours, budget and ambitions.

However, there is a lack of consensus regarding an exact definition. Eight principles of patient-centred care have been proposed by the Picker Institute in the US[i] – respect for the patient’s values; information and education; access to care; emotional support to relieve anxiety; involvement of family and friends; continuity of care; physical comfort; and coordination of care. Other researchers suggest that aspects like shared decision-making is a critical aspect of truly patient-centric care.[ii]

Further still, the subjective nature of the concept makes it difficult to monitor too – a systemic review[iii] found that it is not possible to systematically and empirically assess the quality of patient-centred care within a dental setting. As such, it is equally as challenging to create guidelines for dental teams to follow and implement in a practical way.[iv]

Whatever the concept means to you and your team, it is crucial that steps are taken to optimise the patient experience throughout the practice and for their entire treatment process.

High-quality dentistry

First and foremost, the quality of clinical treatment provided must be optimised. This means making the necessary provisions to facilitate accurate assessments and diagnostics, predictable planning and exceptional treatment delivery. This will require on-going training for the clinician and all members of the dental team to ensure they are using the latest evidence-based treatment techniques.

Communication, engagement and education

In order to deliver dental treatment in a patient’s best interests, it is vital to first understand them, their concerns, their priorities and their knowledge of their oral health. This is why effective communication is a cornerstone of high-quality care. It is also mandatory as part of the education process, ensuring that patients have the information they need to make informed choices and share the decision-making process. Getting them to actively partake in their dental care in this way is also important for their compliance with clinical recommendations and their long-term health.

The practice environment

To ensure the physical comfort of patients before, during and after treatment, the practice design should be considered. There should be a clear direction of flow from the front door to reception, from the waiting room to the surgery. Chairs should be comfortable, signage clear and the atmosphere should be warm and welcoming to help put visitors at ease. The comfort of the dental chair should also be optimised and ease of patient access to facilities such as radiographic and CBCT imaging should be considered too.

Equipment selection

To maximise the time spent with each patient while maintaining a high-quality of clinical treatment, the team must be able to maintain efficient treatment journeys. This often means utilising digital technology to streamline the professional workflow and enhance the predictability, reproducibility and reliability of clinical solutions.

The RVG 5200 intraoral sensor from Carestream Dental offers a sophisticated, reliable and affordable introduction to digital intraoral imaging that helps clinicians achieve all this and more. Featuring excellent image quality for precise diagnostics and a robust design that withstands vigorous practice life, the simple-to-use solution is an ideal entry point for digital dentistry that will promote a patient-centric approach to care.

Patients first, now and always

Patient-centred dentistry is the gold standard in today’s profession. Despite some fluidity remaining with regards to its exact definition, all dental professionals should be looking to achieve an elevated standard of care. By adopting the latest clinical techniques, communication concepts, practice design ideas and digital technology, you too can consistently provide dentistry that puts your patients first – now and always.

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Bio: Nimisha Nariapara

Nimisha is the Trade Marketing Manager at Carestream Dental covering the UK, Middle East, Nordics, South Africa, Russia and CIS regions. She has worked at Carestream Dental for the past 7 years, where she has developed her marketing skills and industry knowledge to bring the core values and philosophy of the company to the market.

[i] Davis K, Schoenbaum SC, Audet AM. A 2020 vision of patient-centered primary care. J Gen Intern Med. 2005 Oct;20(10):953-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.0178.x. PMID: 16191145; PMCID: PMC1490238.

[ii] Barry MJ, Edgman-Levitan S. Shared decision making — the pinnacle of patient-centered care. N Engl J Med 2012; 366 :780–1.

[iii] Scambler, S., Delgado, M. & Asimakopoulou, K. Defining patient-centred care in dentistry? A systematic review of the dental literature. Br Dent J 221, 477–484 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.777

[iv] Camilla Böhme Kristensen, Koula Asimakopoulou, Sasha Scambler, Enhancing patient-centred care in dentistry: a narrative review, British Medical Bulletin, Volume 148, Issue 1, December 2023, Pages 79–88, https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldad026