Person-Centred Dentistry

A special issue of Dentistry Journal (ISSN 2304-6767).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2020) | Viewed by 17749

Special Issue Editors

1. Toulouse University Hospital, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France
2. Oral Health & Society Division, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
Interests: dental epidemiology; periodontal medicine; person-centred care in dentistry; humanities in dentistry; narrative dentistry
Oral Health & Society Division, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
Interests: public health; access to care; social justice; poverty; qualitative research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite an overall improvement in oral health worldwide in recent decades, many oral health problems persist, both in developing and developed countries. At the same time, as society has changed, so have patients' expectations. The traditional paternalistic model is accompanied by an asymmetric relationship of an authoritarian nature between the practitioner and the patient. Professionals now believe that this traditional model is not effective because patients do not necessarily follow the instructions, especially in the prevention or treatment of chronic diseases. Patients also express overall dissatisfaction with dentists' listening and communication skills.

Person-centred care (PCC) in dentistry faces a paradox: While it is promoted by patients, academics, and dental leaders all around the world, it remains an understudied topic.

This Special Issue of the Dentistry Journal aims at collecting papers and presenting the latest findings in this field of research. More specifically, we welcome papers that explore (but are not limited to) the following topics:

  • PCC experimentations (e.g., measures for a better access to dental care), and evaluations in dentistry;
  • Dental clinical examples of how PCC can be conducted in day-to-day routine;
  • PCC implementation in dental educational programs or public health policies.

We encourage different types of submissions on this subject, including research papers, reviews, case reports, position papers or narratives. Qualitative or mixed methods studies are encouraged to gain needed insight into patients’ or dentists’ perspectives.

We thus hope that this Special Issue will enhance our understanding of person-centred care in dentistry.

Thank you very much!

Assoc. Prof. Jean-Noel Vergnes
Assoc. Prof. Christophe Bedos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Dentistry Journal is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • person-centred dentistry
  • patient-centred care
  • biopsychosocial health
  • whole person care
  • narrative dentistry
  • qualitative methods

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 426 KiB  
Article
Communication, Trust and Dental Anxiety: A Person-Centred Approach for Dental Attendance Behaviours
by Siyang Yuan, Ruth Freeman, Kirsty Hill, Tim Newton and Gerry Humphris
Dent. J. 2020, 8(4), 118; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/dj8040118 - 13 Oct 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6640
Abstract
Effective communication forges the dentist-patient treatment alliance and is thus essential for providing person-centred care. Social rank theory suggests that shame, trust, communication and anxiety are linked together, they are moderated by socio-economic position. The study is aimed to propose and test an [...] Read more.
Effective communication forges the dentist-patient treatment alliance and is thus essential for providing person-centred care. Social rank theory suggests that shame, trust, communication and anxiety are linked together, they are moderated by socio-economic position. The study is aimed to propose and test an explanatory model to predict dental attendance behaviours using person-centred and socio-economic position factors. A secondary data analysis was conducted on a cross-sectional representative survey of a two-stage cluster sample of adults including England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Data were drawn from structured interview. Path analysis of proposed model was calculated following measurement development and confirmation of reliable constructs. The findings show model fit was good. Dental anxiety was predicted negatively by patient’s trust and positively by reported dentist communication. Patient’s shame was positively associated with dental anxiety, whereas self-reported dental attendance was negatively associated with dental anxiety. Both patient’s trust and dentist’s communication effects were moderated by social class. Manual classes were most sensitive to the reported dentist’s communications. Some evidence for the proposed model was found. The relationships reflected in the model were illuminated further when social class was introduced as moderator and indicated dentists should attend to communication processes carefully across different categories of patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Person-Centred Dentistry)
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9 pages, 391 KiB  
Article
Developing Person-Centred Dental Care: The Perspectives of People Living in Poverty
by Nioushah Noushi and Christophe Bedos
Dent. J. 2020, 8(3), 82; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/dj8030082 - 03 Aug 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4289
Abstract
Dentistry has seen a slow trend toward person-centred care (PCC), with most approaches developed by scholars who have tried to progress away from disease-centred care. Unfortunately, the perspectives and experiences of underprivileged people have not been considered in the development of these approaches. [...] Read more.
Dentistry has seen a slow trend toward person-centred care (PCC), with most approaches developed by scholars who have tried to progress away from disease-centred care. Unfortunately, the perspectives and experiences of underprivileged people have not been considered in the development of these approaches. Our objective was thus to understand underprivileged people’s experiences and expectations about dental care and contribute to the development of person-centred dentistry. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study with a sample of 13 people living in poverty. We used a maximum variation sampling strategy and selected them among the users of a free dental clinic in Montreal, Canada. We conducted semi-structured interviews that we audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. Our main finding is that participants wanted to feel human and respected by dentists. More specifically, they wanted to be more involved in the dental care process through quality time and empathetic conversations with the dentist. They also wished for an exchange of information free of technical terms and built on mutual trust. In conclusion, person-centred dental care models should emphasize empathy, trust, and quality care beyond technical skills. Clinicians should provide comprehensive information in dental encounters and treat their patients as whole persons. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Person-Centred Dentistry)
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11 pages, 582 KiB  
Article
Perception of Dental Caries and Parental Difficulties in Implementing Oral Hygiene for Children Aged Less Than 6 Years: A Qualitative Study
by Marion Taormina, Sylvie Montal, Yoann Maitre, Paul Tramini and Estelle Moulis
Dent. J. 2020, 8(3), 62; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/dj8030062 - 30 Jun 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3609
Abstract
Background: Despite extensive prevention programs, dental hygiene remains inadequate, particularly among children under the age of six, and early childhood caries (ECC) are still a concern. Oral hygiene behavior and preventive practices seem difficult to change at a family level. Aim. The present [...] Read more.
Background: Despite extensive prevention programs, dental hygiene remains inadequate, particularly among children under the age of six, and early childhood caries (ECC) are still a concern. Oral hygiene behavior and preventive practices seem difficult to change at a family level. Aim. The present study aimed to better understand the reasons behind this behavior and to identify the different barriers to the implementation of adequate preventive measures. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in the pediatric dentistry service of the Montpellier University Hospital (France) in 2019. A thematic analysis concerning three domains was performed: family environment, dental literacy, and oral hygiene. Results. The main barriers encountered by the parents were, respectively, (1) a weakness in the organization of familial life, together with a low-medium family income and a lack of authority, (2) ignorance of the necessity of treating carious primary teeth, and (3) a lack of time for brushing or supervising their children’s teeth. Conclusion: These results showed that oral hygiene and primary teeth care could not be easily achieved in the family environment of the participants, and oral health strategies should be focused not only on children but also on their parents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Person-Centred Dentistry)
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10 pages, 268 KiB  
Article
Improving Person-Centered Access to Dental Care: The Walk-In Dental Encounters in Non-Emergency Situations (WIDENESS)
by Noémie Gulion and Jean-Noel Vergnes
Dent. J. 2019, 7(4), 116; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/dj7040116 - 13 Dec 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2653
Abstract
Background: We hypothesized that access to dental care could be improved by the conceptualization of a new type of consultation: The walk-in dental encounter for non-emergency situations (WIDENESS). The aim of this study was to assess patient perspectives regarding walk-in dental consultations, with [...] Read more.
Background: We hypothesized that access to dental care could be improved by the conceptualization of a new type of consultation: The walk-in dental encounter for non-emergency situations (WIDENESS). The aim of this study was to assess patient perspectives regarding walk-in dental consultations, with a particular focus on non-emergency situations. Methods: We followed a qualitative research approach using a semi-structured interview guide in a sample of random participants recruited from the dental department of the Toulouse University Hospital, France. We performed a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Data saturation was obtained after interviewing 11 participants. Results: When asked about walk-in dental consultations, three main topics emerged: (1) Walk-in dental consultation in general is important for emergency situations, but WIDENESS did not correspond to any specific long-standing need from participants; (2) WIDENESS could be a way to improve access to oral care (facilitating access to care relative to time constraints, reduction of dentist-related anxiety, better overall follow-up for the care pathway, and the complementary nature of consultations with and without appointments); and (3) WIDENESS has some potential drawbacks—apprehension about long waiting times was mentioned by several participants. Conclusions: Participants found the idea of WIDENESS promising, despite spontaneously mentioned reservations, which constitute major challenges to its implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Person-Centred Dentistry)
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