An analysis of audio-recordings of general dental practitioners' consultations with adolescent patients.
Dental consultations of 30 general practitioners with 132 patients aged 10-17 years were recorded. The dental consultation was found to have a consistent structure composed of a sequence of stages, although not all were present in each consultation. Criteria by which verbal communication in a dental consultation can be assessed are identified and the frequency with which they occurred is presented. Although the majority of dentists studied used important communication skills on some of their patients, there were many consultations in which basic techniques such as greeting the patient and using the patient's name were not used. The findings indicate that many dentists could improve their communication with young patients and the investigation suggests mechanisms by which undergraduate and postgraduate education could be improved in this important area.
Wanless
M B
MB
Department of Dental Public Health, Moss Side Health Centre, Manchester.
Holloway
P J
PJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013637:Tape Recording