title: Making standard of caring part of the standard of care.
abstract: Effective risk management focuses on consistent patient communication to inform patients of the benefits of dental health and the breadth of alternative treatments. When education is effective, it helps patients develop new understandings of health and disease. New understandings make appropriate treatment choices possible, and those choices reduce the chances of legal action and contribute to the health of the patient as well as the health of the practice.
authors.forename: Clyde
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schultz
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D003142:Communication; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D017007:Duty to Warn; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011215:Practice Management, Dental; D012308:Risk Management; D035502:Trust