title: Clinical decision making--an art or a science? Part IV: Assessing risks and probabilities.
abstract: Deciding whether a patient requires any dental treatment will depend on an assessment of the risks involved. How likely is it that the condition will get worse if it is left untreated? How likely is it that a particular treatment will be successful? This article looks at risk assessment and examines how the relative risks of a particular course of action might be communicated. It argues that dentists should be able to explain clearly and concisely what is likely to happen to the patient.
authors.affiliation: Turner Dental School, University Dental Hospital of Manchester.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nuttall
mesh_terms: D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D003729:Dental Care / Q000379:methods*; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010358:Patient Participation; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment