Have you ever wondered if your patients understood what you were trying to tell them?
Most patients have a layman’s understanding of good dental hygiene practice: brush twice a day, floss daily, use anti-cavity toothpaste and mouthwash. When it comes to explaining the more complex concepts, a standard answer with medical jargon may leave them more confused than they let on. Of all the times to experience differences in communication, discussing serious medical advice is one of the least ideal – and you want to make sure your patient understands any procedures that may be necessary for them.
In this article, we’ll dive into the multifaceted benefits of refining patient-centric soft skills, explore the role of visual aids in communicating complex concepts, and outline the benefits of take-home advice aids.
The Importance of Clear Communication
We’ve already covered, in part, why communication is important: it equips your patients with the information they need to be healthier and happier. But did you know that clear communication actually has a variety of other benefits for healthcare practitioners? Clear communication is vital at every level of your practice and has the following benefits:
- Patient retention and satisfaction: Patients are more likely to return to your office if they feel that their dentist can communicate their concerns clearly and compassionately. Taking steps to meet patients where they are helps them feel more comfortable in your care, encouraging them to ask for clarification and predisposing them positively for the next steps. As your soft skills improve, you’ll see many familiar faces returning; and maybe even hear from other patients that you were recommended by one of your regulars.
- Overall patient well-being: Clearer communication facilitates more positive results. The last thing you want is for your patient to walk out of your office and write off your advice, not treating it with the severity needed to see improvement. Additionally, clearer communication can reduce patients’ levels of stress or frustration throughout examinations, making it a more pleasant experience to see the dentist overall.
- Avoiding legal liability or serious harm: A lack of communication between dental professionals can lead to misdiagnoses, harming your ability to communicate effectively with patients. Alternatively, your patient could misunderstand your advice, pursuing a method of treatment that does nothing for them – and then turn around and hold your office liable.
As you can see, choosing to invest time and effort into refining your communication methods can be a huge boon to the success of your practice. But how can you communicate with patients in a way that reaps these benefits?
Using External Aids
Patients often have difficulty visualizing the need for treatment – all the more so when what they need is a typically expensive, perhaps invasive, procedure. Visual aids can thus be used to help you make your case to your patients, making abstract concepts more concrete. By facilitating the understanding of what exactly is going on, visual aids help patients feel more comfortable with their treatment plans – and help pave the way for any future steps that they may need to take.
Visually based tools that you can leverage include:
- Step-by-step treatment diagrams: You can use graphic design tools to templatize, customize, and quickly produce high-quality diagrams that outline each step of a patient’s treatment. These diagrams can be used to illustrate the possible steps you’ll take together, helping them understand the trajectory of their treatment and all the possible directions it could take.
- Intraoral photography: Sometimes allowing your patients to see what’s happening for themselves can be the only persuasive tool you need. Intraoral photography paints a clear picture for your patients of what’s going on and can then be extrapolated to show possible future states with or without treatment.
- 3D scans: Similarly to photography, 3D scans show patients what’s going on inside their mouths – however, they show what’s occurring in greater detail, and from every angle. This can be a great way to give your patient a sense of the bigger picture and can be compared with other models to show the impact of future treatment.
In addition to visual aids, providing handouts can be a great way to encourage your patients to act on your advice. Handouts reinforce the patient’s understanding of what’s going on, remind them of the need to follow their treatment plan, and can be excellent tools for the promotion of preventative care.
Auditing Communication Strategies
Knowing that clear communication is important is one thing – being able to tell if your patients understand what you’re saying is another. If you aren’t sure if your communication is clear enough, ask yourself any of these questions:
- How much medical jargon do you use when talking to patients? Do you use abbreviations frequently that patients may not know?
- Do you encourage patients to use broad, descriptive language when describing the source and location of their pain?
- Have you ever asked a patient to repeat your instructions back in their own words?
Adopting any of these practices helps you assess your patient’s level of understanding and meet them where they are. With the right combination of conversational cues, handouts, and visual aids, your patients will be better equipped than ever to take charge of their care.
About the Author
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in health, career management, and education-related content. When she isn’t writing, you can find her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.
