Millions of people can’t afford dental care, and the consequences are devastating for consumers and dental practices alike.

According to the United States Census Bureau, “Adults ages 19 to 34 had the highest uninsured rates of any age group in the United States.” In part, this explains why more than a quarter of adults aged 20-44 live with untreated dental caries, and 35 percent of adults over 18 haven’t visited a dentist in the past year.

Meanwhile, according to an Accenture healthcare consumer survey, younger people are less likely to find value in traditional healthcare models than their contemporaries. Interestingly, this isn’t just a young person’s problem. Nearly 50 percent of Americans over 65 lack traditional dental insurance and haven’t visited the dentist in the past year.

With dental practice revenues expected to drop by 20 percent in 2021, new dental solutions can cater to these consumers, helping practices thrive even in a challenging environment. Specifically, providing dental consumers with transparent pricing, compelling payment models, and personalized patient insights can drive revenues and improve dental outcomes.

#1 Pricing Transparency

The healthcare sector is experiencing a reckoning with pricing with profound implications for dental practices. 

For instance, a novel federal law brought pricing transparency to hospital patients, requiring hospitals to post the prices negotiated with insurance companies. This reflects shifting consumer sentiment that views healthcare as a consumer good subject to the same price efficiencies that drive other sectors, making products and services more affordable for more people.

Dental practices can attract and retain consumers by getting ahead of this trend, offering unparalleled pricing transparency that allows more people to select and pursue the services they want or need.

As one industry professional explains, “Diversifying who you do business with can help grow a dental practice too. Diversifying supplier options has a few great benefits to dental practices, but first and foremost is transparency.”

Embracing price transparency cultivates trust within patient communities, and, when paired with novel payment structures, allows consumers to choose the procedures that matter most to their oral health.

#2 Subscription-based Payment Options 

Subscription-based payment options, powered by a round of tech startups, allow dental practices to couple pricing transparency with unique payment models that cater to younger and older generations unable to attain employer-sponsored healthcare or Medicare, respectively. That’s why several large dental service organizations, including Heartland Dental, Smile Brands Inc., MB2 Dental, NADG, and many more offer dental subscription plans to their patients.

Subscription-based payment options don’t have to replace existing insurance payment models, but they can supplement these offerings, allowing dental practices to reach more patients on their terms.

In addition, practices can consider offering professionally administered membership plans with exclusive member pricing arrangements, earned rewards, and other financial incentives that encourage people to regularly invest in their oral health.

While the particular member fees and discounts will look different for each dental practice, membership plans create uniquely personal and financial connections between dental practices and consumers, encouraging loyalty and enhancing profitability.

#3 Personalized Consumer Experience

Today’s consumers expect a personal and connected experience in every context, and dental providers should work to meet those expectations with their digital platforms. 

For starters, create member dashboards that provide patients with easy access to their dental care priorities while allowing them to self-schedule or communicate with a team member using live chat functionality. Meanwhile, practices can capitalize on consumers’ mobile-first mentality, providing push notifications and other features that increase engagement and drive revenue growth.

Most importantly, a personalized consumer experience is about communication, which undergirds any thriving dental practices. As the American Dental Association (ADA) reminds practices, “Your ability to communicate with patients impacts their perception of your practice. Managing that perception is critical to providing patients with ethical, personalized, high-quality care that maintains, or improves, their oral health and their overall health and well-being.”

Digital platforms provide an easy and accessible way for practices to personalize the consumer experience, enhancing communication and patient outcome along the way.

Conclusion

Last year, dental practice revenue declined by six percent as millions of people lost their employer-sponsored health insurance, delayed semi-annual appointments, and reprioritized dental procedures as part of their overall healthcare spending. Now, dental practices can provide a compelling opportunity to re-engage with these consumers while simultaneously appealing to a new generation and an older cohort of dental consumers ready for new solutions. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Johnson is the founder and CEO of membersy, a digital health company democratizing access to quality, affordable dental care through subscription-based dentistry. While building his career in the dental care space, Eric founded membersy in 2015 with the mission of helping dental professionals take back the dental care narrative from big insurance companies through pricing transparency and a personalized membership experience for patients. For more information, please visit membersy.com.

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Delaying dental care is not a new trend for dental patients during the pandemic. We’ve all heard how much anxiety patients can have about going to the dentist. However, the temptation to push off dental care did get prodigiously worse during the last year of lockdowns and COVID-19 fears. As we return to a more normalized state, patients that delayed care are returning to offices once more. The unfortunate case is that they are usually returning to deal with an immediate acute problem, like tooth pain or a broken crown. Whether their hesitancy to cross the dentist’s threshold comes from COVID fears or a deeper-rooted reluctance, these patients finally do darken their providers’ doorsteps. This gives dental providers a unique opportunity to educate patients on the perils of delayed care and encourage the patient to change their behavior. In essence, it is our job to convey that dental problems only get worse, not better. They become more extensive and more expensive. And neither the dentist nor the patient wants that to occur.

As clinicians, our chairside manner will make or break how patients respond to these conversations. The procrastinating patient provides a critical opportunity to guide patients towards better oral health. In terms of motivating action and decreasing patient-level fear, here are five steps we practice at Sage Dental to best engage patients in productive care conversations and successfully influence their dental behaviors moving forward.

Step 1: Engage through Teledentistry

Connecting with your patients via non-threatening virtual appointments is the quickest way to ease the stress of a return to the dental office after a long hiatus. Those appointments, whether real-time or asynchronous, convey a lot about your willingness to help and overall lack of judgment for their state of oral health. Patients love it, particularly new patients, which starts the process of getting the patient to pursue treatment.

Step 2: Transform the in-office experience to reflect co-discovery

Utilizing newer technologies, such as HelloPearl’s artificial intelligence Second Opinion platform or Dental Monitoring’s SmileMate virtual consultation iPhone scan, to give your patients a tech-forward, unbiased, and pain-free peak into their oral health condition can go a long way toward lessening the anxiety of a return to care. Fear of judgement is another valid fear that patients experience. Using such methods creates an unbiased assessment, which looks a lot less like a dentists’ judgment or “opinion.” Utilizing these AI iPhone scanning technologies is as simple as taking a selfie. And let’s face it, patients love selfies. Changing the patient’s perception of the visit changes the overall chairside experience into something far less threatening and less open to interpretation.

Step 3:  Take it in bite size pieces

First, we must address the immediate pain or problem the patient is experiencing. Avoidant patients have likely experienced days to months of acute pain or discomfort, so it is important to spend the bulk of the appointment addressing their immediate concerns with compassion and clinical precision. Providers know this. But the temptation is always there to share the entirety of dental disease that we see. Patients are not going to be receptive to any home health or in-office best practice messages their providers are sharing until they are out of pain. At Sage Dental, we make a point of building a solid foundation of patient-provider rapport using innovative new technologies and phased goals, which will ultimately help us get important messages across later.

Step 4: Plan ahead together: what got you here won’t get you there

Once the patient is comfortable, take the time to reflect on their oral health and share the correlations between overall health. Walk through what caused the issue they came in for. Was it a direct result of neglected or delayed care? Would coming in for the recommended semiannual appointments have caught this issue before it became debilitating? In most cases, the answer is yes. 

Once the patient has a clear understanding of the past behavior that brought them to this point, it is the perfect segue to discuss the current state of their oral health. Just because you as the provider dealt with their immediate oral care needs does not mean that their oral health is 100% restored. Now is the time to discuss any other lesions you and the other dental providers have observed in their mouth that are likely to result in future pain or issues if the patient continues to delay care. However, our chairside demeanor is critical to conveying this in a non-judging, forward-focused way. We can’t change yesterday for the patient, but we can certainly improve tomorrow with continued care.

Rather than dictate the patient’s best course of action (something that is sure to alienate them and discourage changed behavior), invite them into a conversation about making a plan that works forthem. Start by giving the patient a big-picture view into the state of their oral health and describing what might become an issue later, while also complimenting them on what they are doing right. In my experience, many providers neglect to point out the positives, and they nearly always exist. Make sure the patient clearly understands that they have options: different treatment plans can be tailored based on the patient’s aesthetic and financial expectations. At Sage Dental, we’ve found a great way to share this information with patients is by utilizes newer simulation technologies, and in turn, they often share these images on social media.

Step 5: Share cautious optimism

Finally, it is important to end with caution and optimism. Dental providers have a duty to communicate the seriousness of delayed care: the patient could wind up in the same (or more) pain than what forced them to seek dental care in the first place. Reminding the patient where the day started, the pain or issue they were experiencing (and would like to avoid moving forward) can be an effective tool to prompt future change. Remind the patient that without implementing a treatment plan, their oral health challenges will persist. Share how much you as their provider want them to never experience “a day like today again.” End by reiterating your hope that they will work with you to ensure that does not happen, and highlight your confidence that their dental experience will be a positive one as you implement the agreed upon treatment plan.

Whether dentists face another pandemic lockdown or not, patients will continue to find reasons to delay their dental care. As a result, even when the pandemic is long behind us, dental providers will be working to address patient hesitancy and the negative oral health consequences of delayed care. From COVID-clench to broken teeth to periodontal disease progression due to delayed care, clinicians will need to leverage excellent chairside manner to build positive rapport with patients. Only through innovative new technologies, strategic communication and strong relationships will patients be persuaded to change their behavior and ultimately elevate their oral health for the better long term.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Roark is the senior vice president and chief clinical officer at Sage Dental, responsible for overall clinical leadership, including enterprise-wide clinical strategic planning, developing and improving clinical protocols, researching new technologies and services, overseeing quality assurance, and providing professional development opportunities to 500 clinical team members and over 65 supported dental practices. 

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Endodontics has come a long way! I remember when I became an endodontic resident, many of the dental school instructors told me I was entering into a dying specialty. Since then, so many new technologies have come to the scene to give my specialty new life. I am excited about this new revival.

There is no doubt that tooth anatomy is a huge obstacle when it comes to disinfecting teeth. Tooth anatomy is probably the No. 1 culprit for failed root canals, and yet, it doesn’t get enough attention. When most dentists can’t figure out why a tooth is symptomatic, they propose that it is cracked. But that is often a misdiagnosis that leads to unnecessary tooth extraction. Ask yourself, what would you do if it were your tooth? Would you extract it, or would you give it another go and try to save it? Before you answer that, let’s talk about tooth anatomy and technology.

CASE REPORTS

Case 1

This first case will help clarify my intent here. When you examine the radiograph of tooth No. 19, it appears that the root canal has been  done correctly. There were 4 canals found. They were densely filled, yet there was still a periapical radiolucency. What do you see that could be a potential reason for the failure? Let’s start with a diagnosis. This tooth was tender to percussion, obviously had no response to cold, and all probings were within normal limits. The diagnosis was previously treated and symptomatic apical periodontitis of tooth No. 19 (Figures 1 to 3).

Taking a closer look, the obturations were a few millimeters short. This is a definite source of bacteria, and we had to question the patency in this case. Most practitioners will look at the “J-shaped” radiolucency around the mesial root. Based on what we were taught in dental school, it is the textbook definition of a cracked tooth. There are studies showing that the mesial root of the mandibular first molar is one of the most common roots to fracture. So is it reinfected, or is this tooth fractured?

In the first step, removing the gutta-percha, I started to look around the tooth. One of the things I do in every mandibular molar is trough the groove between the MB and the ML canals. Once that was done, note what was found while using the microscope (Figure 4): a middle mesial canal! No wonder there was a lesion around the mesial root. There was still original bacteria in that canal that could explain the radiolucency around that root! Did you know that the middle mesial canal is present anywhere from 2% to 18% of the time? My recommendation is to look for it in every single mandibular molar (Figures 5 and 6). Pro tip: Using high magnification will make your life much easier. Going back to the CBCT to see if I could see the canal with my cone beam, I wondered if I had missed it during my initial workup. You can see from both the axial and the coronal views that there is really no sign of a middle mesial canal. This case shows that CBCT scans may not always provide this information; you still have to use all of your diagnostic skills and “tools” (Figures 7 to 9). Luckily, you can see this middle mesial canal with a microscope in this case, but you have to understand that such a thing exists in the first place. Without it, and not being aware of this anomaly, the same 4 canals would have been re-treated, ending up with the same outcome—a failed root canal. The point is that there are several cases in which you can see those extra canals. It’s just that some canals are too small to be seen clearly by imaging alone, so in endo, you have to marry all of the technologies together.

Case 2

In another case, the cone beam was the hero from my technology suite. This patient had a root canal about 7 years prior on tooth No. 30, and it was tender to percussion upon presentation. The diagnosis of the tooth was previously treated and symptomatic apical periodontitis on tooth No. 30 (Figures 10 to 12). The CBCT scan clearly shows the bone resorption around the mesial root, which is not easily seen on the periapical radiograph. This is a huge advantage of using a cone beam (Figure 13). The coronal view shows that part of the mesial obturation did not go all the way to the apex (Figure 14), but the real reward is the axial view, which shows us that there was not only 1 but 2 untreated canals in the mesial root (Figure 15). This demonstrated the exact etiology of root canal failure, and in the future, the operator should not miss that middle mesial canal again. By treating more found canals, there will be more successful outcomes.

Case 3

The root canal renaissance isn’t just about CBCT and microscopes. I also want to talk about GentleWave technology (Sonendo), and how it has amplified how I practice endodontics. This interesting case will explain my comment. The patient was treated with a root canal on tooth No. 19 about 1.5 years ago and is now sensitive to chewing. All the probings were within normal limits, and the diagnosis once again is previously treated and symptomatic apical periodontitis.

Interestingly, the straight angle shows that the gutta-percha length was right on the money. But the off-angle radiograph shows the 2 canals clearly, and they were 1 mm from the radiographic terminus. See how the angle of your radiograph can have an impact on your working length? It is totally possible this case did not get to complete patency, but overall, the root canal appears to have been well-done (Figures 16 to 18).

Once the cleaning and shaping were completed, the conefit was a bit long on one of the mesial canals. The radiograph was taken at a mesial angle (Figure 19), so using the SLOB Rule (same lingual, opposite buccal), I needed to trim my mesiolingual cone, as well as the distal cone, since they are both long. This rule is explained in more detail at soniachopradds.com.

Everything was pretty straightforward, but what caught me by surprise in my obturation was the next radiograph (Figures 20 and 21). There was a middle mesial canal that started in the middle third of the canal. I did not see this canal with my microscope or even get a file into it. However, in using the GentleWave for this case (as I do in all retreatment cases), the fluid dynamics of the machine were able to get the disinfection solution into this tiny canal and clean this area. No rotary file or hand file would easily get into this area.

This patient also had 2 root canals on tooth No. 30 (Figure 22), which also had a periapical radiolucency on the mesial root. Once again, the CBCT scan shows the lesion just a little more clearly (Figure 23). This patient was not symptomatic, so the diagnosis for tooth No. 30 was previously treated and asymptomatic apical periodontitis. There were several treatment options for tooth No. 30. This tooth could have had an apicoectomy or even an extraction at this point. Since our bodies are naturally bilateral, and based on the treatment on tooth No. 19, a decision was made to re-treat tooth No. 30. Cleaning the tooth with the GentleWave should increase its prognosis, especially due to the probability of a middle mesial canal.

Case 4

In examining one more case, the anatomy, once again, was something I wasn’t expecting. In the pre-op radiographs, notice the large periapical radiolucency on the mesial root (Figures 24 to 26). The treatment looked pretty straightforward, and the procedure seemed to be going along predictably. Once again, the GentleWave was used on this tooth since that is now a part of my standard operating procedure. It wasn’t until the obturation was completed with warm vertical condensation and AH Plus Root Canal Sealer that the anastomoses of the mesial canals with my obturation material became visible (Figures 27 and 28).

Anatomy like this is exactly why some treatments fail and why many people think that some teeth are cracked when they actually are not. Canals don’t have to start at the chamber level—sometimes you can see this on a CBCT scan, and sometimes you can’t, and sometimes you can see it with a microscope, and sometimes you can’t. Hopefully, cases like these make you pause every time you have a tooth that is still symptomatic so that you don’t blame it on a crack. Instead, you can blame the bugs that are still inside and give that tooth another chance.

CONCLUSION

The goal with these cases is to bring awareness to the possibilities of all things when it comes to root canals so that you can save more teeth. This is the modern-day root canal, and when you use all 3 of these technologies—the microscope, the CBCT system, and the GentleWave—you can get the perfect trifecta for root canal success so that you can save more teeth for your patients.

Investing in technology has always been the key to my practice’s growth and staying at the top of my game in dentistry. As an endodontist using these on almost every procedure, the ROI is obvious for financial and clinical reasons. A GP can determine the overall value based on the array of procedures in a practice. Of course, there are many other reasons for CBCT than mere endodontics. However, I do think it is important to share how far the specialty of endo-dontics has come so everyone can have a better awareness of what we can do for their patients. These pieces of technology are a game-changer for root canals, and this awareness will have an impact on your referrals and treatment plans! Even if you don’t do endodontics in your practice, just knowing the possibilities and helping your patients make the best choices for their care is half the battle. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Chopra is a board-certified endodontist and owner of Ballantyne Endodontics in Charlotte, NC. She is the founder of E-School, an online continuing education course in endodontics that has trained hundreds of general dentists. She trains dental residents at Atrium Medical Center in Charlotte, regularly speaks at professional events like the Association of American Endodontists and Women in Dentistry, and contributes to scholarly journals, podcasts, and media outlets for dentists. Additionally, she is co-founder of A Night for Smiles, an annual gala to support Charlotte-area dental health initiatives. She can be reached at soniachopradds.com.

Disclosure: Dr. Chopra is a key opinion leader for Sonendo and Dentsply Sirona.  

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My parents are hard-working Sicilian immigrants who came to this country to pursue the American dream. Their example taught me the value of a strong work ethic at an early age. My father worked tirelessly, leaving for his construction jobs (yes, plural) long before I woke up and coming home about the time I went to bed. My mother kept our house humming, made three meals from scratch daily and hand-made our clothes, while also serving as the neighborhood’s seamstress and hairstylist. My grandparents, who emigrated with my parents, modeled similar behavior. My grandfather, a factory janitor, worked evenings. My grandmother was a commercial seamstress. Frugal in their spending, they accumulated enough to start dabbling in real estate – small apartment dwellings they managed when they were not at their jobs. 

What I saw were regular people working from sunup to sundown, who were not just making ends meet but thriving in a country where they barely knew the language or culture. In retrospect, I now know I was reared by industrious entrepreneurs who were hustling well before hustling was cool. Their efforts were less about accumulating wealth and more about creating a better future for the generations that would follow. It was no surprise that I’d adopt their work ethic. It’s in my DNA.

Thanks to a high school work permit, I got my first job at fifteen. While maintaining the course load required to get into dental school, I worked twenty hours a week throughout high school and college. I even worked during dental school, mostly on campus, doing jobs that allowed me to study during down times. I enjoyed staying busy. In fact, not having a job along with vigorous studies felt like a waste. 

This pattern continued after I graduated from dental school in 1997. I worked outside the hospital during my residency training, starting my own practice on Saturdays, subletting a private office. Upon completion of my residency program, I worked as an associate in several offices, filling my week while I continued to grow my own patient base by marketing on Sunday, my day off.  

Fueled by copious amounts of caffeine, sleepless nights were a badge of honor because it meant that I was hustling hard. I even bragged about it to my friends. But hustling was not a temporary state of being; it was how I normally lived every moment of life.

I capitalized on the growing success of my private practice by doubling down – dropping associateships in order to focus on my own gig. To keep patients happy, I bent over backwards, literally and figuratively, and had no boundaries. The lines between my work and personal life were blurred. If an emergency called, I dropped everything in order to meet patients’ needs, even if the nature of their issues were not actual emergencies. It wasn’t long before my patients expected me to be at their beck and call. I allowed it because I thought it was the best way to grow my business. 

As I eventually learned, there’s a dark side to hustle culture. The more I poured myself into growing my practice, the more I suffered physically and emotionally. I felt called to serve and I loved the work but the “hustle” I had internalized was doing more damage than good. I pushed myself to maintain a level of productivity I thought would bring me success. I’d work from 9am to 6pm, and then go home to feed my family. After putting my boys to bed, I’d make my way back to my home office for a couple more hours. 

A fan of self-care, I practiced yoga fairly regularly and scheduled regular massages. I now know that I was moving through the motions of self-care, but was only superficially addressing issues without getting to the root of the problem. 

Over the years, my body started rebelling against me. The stress I ignored brought on gastrointestinal symptoms. In addition to my western medical doctors, I saw a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, and a therapist on a regular basis—doing everything I could afford to do, thanks to my financial success. Yet there were no answers and I was not improving. 

There were days I was so fatigued that I couldn’t be present with my boys or engage with my husband. With symptoms that couldn’t be explained by any particular illness or lab test, my doctors pointed to one culprit: mismanaged stress. The truth was, no amount of self-care would make up for the mindset that martyrdom is a requirement of success.

Major changes were crucial to reclaim my health. I took drastic steps that afforded me the ability to refocus personally and re-center me professionally. With the goal of healing my body and mind, I started living more intentionally and less out of habit. I set boundaries and learned to pay attention to my well-being. My definition of self-care evolved as I learned to focus on what I needed to be well. I created more space for mental and physical breaks and removed myself from stressful environments. 

I continue to work at this but it isn’t easy. My self-worth is so deeply connected to my level of productivity. But now, with awareness, the phrase “get rich or die trying” has a whole new meaning. I still work hard and put in extra hours as needed, but now I know to relax harder. Through mindfulness practices, I’ve learned how to be successful without sacrificing my health. Now I assess how I feel, and understand what I need to feel better (or at a minimum, to not feel worse). I continuously remind myself that life doesn’t need to be all or nothing. 

I’ve learned to set aside more time to be alone, limiting social engagements to just a few per month, as a way to recharge. I exercise daily. But if my body tells me to rest, I honor that inner wisdom. With practice, it gets easier to release guilt that surfaces when I need a break. 

Watching my parents adapt to their golden years provides new lessons. They still work hard maintaining their home and proliferous vegetable garden. But in their wisdom, they’ve learned to modify their routine to suit their energy level. Daily activity, coupled with rest periods, keeps them vibrant and healthy. Taking a cue from them, my daily mantra now is to be productive but also to stop when I’m ready to stop, even if the work isn’t technically done. Admittedly, this isn’t as social-media friendly as “rise and grind,” but that’s fine with me. Healthy, fulfilled, and sane is sexier. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Dovidio graduated in 1997 from Northwestern University Dental School with honors from the Academy of General Dentistry. She completed advanced training at the VA Medical Center in North Hills, California, where she served as chief dental resident. A certified yoga teacher, Dr. Dovidio lives in Southern California with her husband and two sons and runs Yoga for Dentists, an online community of dental professionals who are interested in healthy living. She offers free content on the Yoga for Dentists YouTube Channel and podcast as well as in a private Facebook group and on Instagram. For a free End of Workday Meditation you can download to your device, click here or visit yogafordentists.net. She can also be reached at josie@yogafordentists.net.

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A study led by a team of periodontists and psychologists at King’s College London including dentistry consultants at Guy’s Hospital has found that teledentistry may be a valid option for first stage triage or follow-up consultations, saving patients attending clinics in person.

With the significant impact of COVID-19 on dentistry, including the substantial rise in the use of video consultations, the team set out to investigate dentists’ and patients’ attitudes toward dental video consultations (teledentistry) and to identify potential ways to improve the experience. 

Through a survey of 249 participants over a period of six months from July 1st – December 14th, 2020, participants’ attitudes were assessed using a series of questionnaires. The results showed that the majority of patients strongly agreed and were satisfied with the use of tele-dentistry, and dentists and dental students alike felt more confident and competent after having carried out a video consultation.

The use of teledentistry has many advantages for patients. Lead author of the study, Professor Luigi Nibali of King’s College London explains:

“As people tend to be working from home, and travelling into cities less, online appointments are a solution to a busy work schedule, and to help maintain social distancing in hospitals. Patients are also able to access healthcare earlier, receive specialist care, minimise time off work and reduce travel over long distances to receive consultations. This of course can only be applied to certain cases”

Clinicians and dentists can also significantly benefit from the move to teledentistry.

Co-author Dr Payvand Menhadji added: “For clinicians, tele-dentistry has the potential to triage referrals and reduce long waiting lists. It has proven to be more cost-effective than real-time in person clinical consultations in dentistry. By giving patients reassurance, oral hygiene instructions and a follow-up video consultation to review the issue, it is possible to reduce the number of appointments requiring face-to-face contact.” 

The team concluded that teledentistry can be a suitable alternative to increase access to healthcare services to patients and save resources during the pandemic and beyond. Healthcare providers should consider adapting patient pathways and utilizing teledentistry medicine as an alternative method of consultation.

##### 

The paper Patients’ and dentists perceptions of Tele-Dentistry at the time of COVID-19, A questionnaire based study was published in the Journal of Dentistry on 13 August, 2021 and can be viewed here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34400252/

The study was partially funded by a King’s Health Partners Grant.

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In today’s world, dentists treat patients from different cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Modern-day treatments emphasize a shared decision-making process that requires communication between the dentist and the patient. The dentist’s ability to communicate in their patient’s language is important in building a strong dentist-patient relationship.

Having a patient who speaks a different language can be intimidating for a dentist, but it doesn’t have to be. Spending time learning about your patient’s cultural differences, preparing translated paperwork, and arranging for an interpreter or interpretation solution will go a long way in communicating with your patient. The following tips will help you and the patient feel more prepared when a language barrier exists. 

Use an interpreter

When working with an interpreter, speak directly to the patient and their family, not the interpreter. For example, do not look at the interpreter and ask them if they can ask the patient a question. Instead, look at the patient and ask your question. This keeps the discussion patient-focused, helps you build rapport, and helps you connect with the patient. You want to keep the patient engaged and make them feel that they are your main priority. By focusing on the interpreter, the patient can feel disengaged with the conversation. Legally, an interpreter should be available in person, via video chat, or by phone. You do not need to hire a professional interpreter; however, it is recommended to have staff who speak the language that is prominent in your area. When speaking with the interpreter, speak slowly, and clearly to ensure your information is understood.

Learn the basics of the language

Learning a few short phrases can be beneficial when working with a patient who speaks a different language. Learn phrases like hello, how are you, pleased to meet you, thank you, and goodbye. Even a few small phrases can help put your patient at ease and show that you took time to learn even a basic amount of their language. This shows you care and can help build rapport with your patient. You can use online programs and applications to learn basic greetings and salutations. You will also want to learn a few language terminologies in your field. This will help you get the medical information across easier and will be more beneficial for the patient. 

Use written materials

Written documents are key in making sure the information your patient needs to know is understood. You should have translated documents for your patients ready for after their procedures. These documents are necessary for at-home after-care and prescription directions. There are a variety of medical translation services that can be used to have the translated documents available. You can also have a native-speaking person of that language at your office translate your after-care documents for you and have them typed out for your patients.

Check for understanding

A dentist always needs to make sure the patient understands the information they are telling them. You should never assume that the patient or family member understood you. To ensure that you and your patient are on the same page, use the teach-back method. Have the patient and family member explain back to you the information you just gave. Using this method will allow you to know they understand any procedures or at-home care information.

Use gestures

Communication is not just verbal. Using gestures can help demonstrate the information you are passing on. Head nodding, facial expressions, hand gestures, touch, and demonstration gestures are all universal ways of communicating. You should be aware of culturally inappropriate body language or hand gestures before they arrive, so you don’t accidentally offend the patient. You can learn this by doing a simple online search or speaking with a person from that part of the world.

Communication is key when working with patients. The dentist needs to inform their patients of any procedures, medications, and after-care procedures to ensure they are receiving all the necessary care. By using these tips, you can be sure you are effectively communicating with patients who speak different languages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Edward Harsini is the owner of Smile Dental Clinics in Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Dental School in 1998. He is certified by UCLA Aesthetic Continuum, The 3M Imtec Mini Dental Implants, and GRU/AAID Maxi-Course Implant Dentistry.

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Videa Health is on a mission to improve patient health through the power of AI. With that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at the company and their values.

By leveraging algorithms, analytics, and health data, Videa Health is unlocking health and economic value across the dental value chain – making dentistry more transparent for dentists, insurers and patients. They measure impact by how many lives they positively touch. They are on the way toward supporting millions of patients, and will continue to strive until every dental patient gets an accurate diagnosis and every provider captures the efficiencies and faster reimbursement that will scale their business.

As mentioned, they have a set of core values they apply to their work.

1. Move Health Forward

They are determined to make a tangible difference in health care. Truly improving the care patients are receiving comes before anything else. Technology is a means to an end to achieve a positive impact — it is never an end in itself. Impacting health has to be measurable – qualitatively or quantitatively. Every step they take has to hold up to the goal of moving healthcare forward. They strive to touch as many lives, in a positive way, as possible!

2. Collaborate

They embrace collaboration – among colleagues, partners and practitioners. Their mission is an ambitious one. They therefore pull everyone’s strengths together to unleash the full potential technology can offer to improve health.

They believe it is in having each other’s backs that they will flourish and thrive.

3. Think Rigorously

They apply the highest standards to all of their work. They are aware that they operate in a highly delicate field – people’s health. Therefore, they must hold themselves to extraordinarily high levels of quality in everything they do. Their work is shaped by moving fast, but they always take the time to check and ensure it is flawless.

Measure twice, cut once – move fast, but always step back and reflect carefully.

4. Grow

They view their mistakes as opportunities for improvement. They continuously learn on an individual, group, and company level, never taking the status quo as given. They test, they validate, and they improve. Constantly.

5. Build Community

Given how much there is to learn, they seek input from and collaborate with their clients and partners on driving performance and breakthroughs. They seek to build communities of practice while delivering impact for their clients.

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The Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM) has received a nearly $200,000 grant to begin investigating whether regular COVID-19 testing at dental practices would improve safety and reassure staff and patients.

“We’re assuming people will feel safer if patients and dental office staff are tested regularly, but we’re not sure,” said dean Cecile A. Feldman, the project’s principal investigator.

Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the pilot study will explore the effect of tests administered to staff and patients. Four area dental practices will be enrolled in the study, all of them part of the Practice Based Research Network, a group of dentists in private practice who work together to translate research findings into practice.

RSDM researchers will design the testing protocol and infrastructure of the pilot study and also examine the effectiveness of other protocols, such as temperature checks upon admittance.

For one month, staff and some patients will be given one of two types of tests: a point-of-care nasal swab that shows results within 15 minutes, and a saliva test that can be mailed to patients before a visit and is sent to a lab, which provides results within 48 hours.

Dental healthcare workers including dentists, hygienists, assistants, and front desk personnel will be tested every two weeks. Patients also will be tested, and both groups will be surveyed to see if the testing decreases any doubts or anxieties about dental visits during the pandemic. The pilot project will run for one month in each practice.

Feldman hopes the results of the pilot study will lead to funding for larger-scale research.

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The Dental Trade Alliance and Lanmark360 have created a social media campaign designed to encourage patients to return to dental practices. The partners developed it based on the findings of a recent nationwide survey indicating that many patients will willing and ready to return to dental offices for routine care.

“We found over half of the respondents had fallen behind on their dental care due to canceled appointments,” said Howard Klein, president of Lanmark360. “Over 50% of respondents say they intend to return to their dentist for a routine cleaning within the next three months.”

With short videos and suggested posts that dental practices can download and use for free, the social media campaign reminds patients that it’s time to come back with the slogan “If you’re ready, we’re ready.”

“Now that COVID-19 quarantine restrictions are easing up throughout the US, more dental practices are once again open for business,” said Gregory Chavez, CEO of the Dental Trade Alliance. “This social media campaign is a simple and effective way for dentists to remind patients that it’s time to make an appointment.”

Content is available at postsformypatients.com.

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You probably know that most of your patients aren’t honest with you, as 73% of patients say they have lied to their dentist, according to a DentaVox survey. If it helps, 41% of them say they feel embarrassed about it.

In most cases, patients are dishonest about neglecting their oral hygiene or indulging in unhealthy food and drinks. For instance, 23% of respondents admit they have lied about brushing twice a day. Another 20% of survey participants confess to lying about their frequent consumption of carbonated drinks.

The survey shows that feeling ashamed of poor oral hygiene is the most common reason why patients lie, indicated by a third of respondents. Dental fear was the second most popular explanation for not telling the truth, confessed by 17% of survey participants.

Most respondents (67%) haven’t always told their dentist the truth when it comes to oral hygiene habits or prevention. Similarly, 58% have lied about matters related to their visits such as when their last checkup was, the urgency of their problem, or why they canceled an appointment.

Furthermore, 43% of respondents haven’t been completely honest about their dental insurance plan. Pretending not to know what the plan includes or lying that it covers everything are some of the lies most frequently mentioned by respondents.

When it comes to oral hygiene, 27% said they brush twice a day even though they don’t. A similar result was reported by an earlier study in New Zealand.

In addition, 20% have lied about brushing correctly, and 20% have been dishonest about flossing. This is slightly lower than findings from a previous study in the United States (27%) and higher than in New Zealand (17%).

Generally, most patients don’t tell the truth because they’re embarrassed about their oral hygiene (27%). Dental fear is the second most common reason for lying. Other psychological factors include protection of self-image (14%), fear of disapproval (12%), and unwillingness to admit poor oral health (12%).

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