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PRACTICE INFORMATION RESOURCE
www.AquareshScienceAcademy.com
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As we learn rom this frst articleon communication skills or dentalpractitioners, eective communication isa complex process and it is important tobe able to recognise where barriers mayexist and proactively address areas whereconusion may arise.A good relationship between a dentalpractitioner and their patients is reliant onsuccessul communication that engendersrespect and trust. Ater all, getting yourmessage across accurately and motivating your patients to ollow your advice willhelp them to improve their home careroutine or maximise their chances otreatment success. For more inormationon eective strategies or getting yourmessage across, see the article
‘Top tips for successful communication
’.
Bckd cmmuncn
However, communication can oten gowrong. This is because it is a complexchain o events consisting o threecomponents where you, as the
sender
,relay your
message
to a
receiver
– inthis case your patient. Along the way, thisprocess can be blocked and can result inconusion and rustration.With words contributing a relativelysmall part o a message, it is importantthat you are aware o how you say yourmessage and what you do while saying it.For example, when oering advice to yourpatients, do you use the right vocabulary,volume, tone and body language? Are youtalking at the right pace or your patients?
Mg dvry
It is important that the message isclear, accurate, sufciently detailed andbased on your patient’s needs and levelo understanding – rather than yours.Be aware that your vocabulary maybe amiliar to you, but alien to yourpatient. Distal, occlusal, buccal, lingual,prophylaxis, periodontal, gingival, cariesare words not used in everyday languageand can be conusing to the layman.
Why dOES COMMUNICATION
Failures in communication,when the message receivedis dierent rom the messagethat was intended, are morecommon than we would like.It is oten difcult to identiywhat has gone wrong and it isall too easy to criticise therecipient o the message asailing to understand.
soMetiMes fail?
GettinG your messaGe across
I
 
Nn-vrb cmmuncn
Research into non-verbal communication(Mehrabian, 1971) studied cues people use to judge whether another person likes them ornot. It was ound that words only contributed7% while tone o voice and acial cues werear more important. Indeed, when acialexpressions were inconsistent with words,acial cues were more likely to be believed.
For further information visit:www.AquafreshScienceAcademy.com
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