Biomaterial Database

Association Between Dentist-Dental Hygienist Communication and Dental Treatment Outcomes. 2017

Tomoko Hamasaki, and Hiroaki Kato, and Takashi Kumagai, and Akihito Hagihara

a Department of Nutrition Faculty of Home Economics , Kyushu Women's University , Japan.

Communication between physician and patient is critical in all fields of medicine, and various types of communication exist in healthcare settings. Cooperation among healthcare professionals is thought to be essential in providing high-quality services. Dental hygienists are key team members in the provision of dental care, and are known to play an important role in the health of their patients. This study aimed to determine the effect of communication between dentists and hygienists on patient satisfaction. Study subjects were dentists, patients, and dental hygienists, and we examined how dentist-dental hygienist communication affected patient outcome indices. A significant difference was observed only for satisfaction in terms of meeting expectations (p = 0.035). Results for patient satisfaction indicated significant differences in explanatory behavior in dentist-dental hygienist evaluations (p = 0.001). The results showed improved health and reduced fear, indicating significant differences for the dentist-dental hygienist evaluations in explanation behavior (p = 0.016). Our evaluation of the effects of dentist-dental hygienist communication on patient outcomes indicated a significant correlation, suggesting that inter-professional communication in the field of dentistry affects patient satisfaction.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007400	Interprofessional Relations	The reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.	Etiquette, Medical,Medical Etiquette,Relations, Interprofessional
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D003142	Communication	The exchange or transmission of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs between individuals or groups.	Miscommunication,Misinformation,Social Communication,Communication Programs,Communications Personnel,Personal Communication,Communication Program,Communication, Personal,Communication, Social,Communications, Social,Miscommunications,Misinformations,Personnel, Communications,Program, Communication,Programs, Communication,Social Communications
D003729	Dental Care	The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).	Care, Dental
D003756	Dental Hygienists	Persons trained in an accredited school or dental college and licensed by the state in which they reside to provide dental prophylaxis under the direction of a licensed dentist.	Dental Hygienist,Hygienist, Dental,Hygienists, Dental
D003815	Dentists	Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.	Dentists, Pediatric,Dentists, Prosthetic,Dentists, Restorative,Periodontists,Prosthodontists,Dentist,Dentist, Pediatric,Dentist, Prosthetic,Dentist, Restorative,Pediatric Dentist,Pediatric Dentists,Periodontist,Prosthetic Dentist,Prosthetic Dentists,Prosthodontist,Restorative Dentist,Restorative Dentists
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man