In the world we live in today, education is no longer confined to an authoritative figure addressing an individual. It’s not just about the doctor telling his patient; it’s more than teachers simply dictating from textbooks. Education is now a fully interactive experience available at the click of a button. To ensure oral health improvements mirror their technological counterparts, the information we give to patients must be clearer than ever.
Research shows that patients forget as much as 80 per cent of what they are told as soon as they leave the surgery, while only half of the information recalled is correct. The use of medical terminology, poor short term memory or feelings of anxiety can all result in the patient failing to correctly recall the information that was given to them. Patients should not be expected to understand medical jargon and dental professionals must consider carefully how effective their communication is verbally, online and in print.
The best way around this is to back up the spoken advice with a written leaflet. This way the patient can digest the information at their leisure, and can refer back to it should they forget any of the details. This method has been proven to result in far greater information recollection, and leads to better treatment adherence. There is also an added benefit of informed consent if the provision of a descriptive leaflet is recorded on the patient record. Without good patient information preventive dentistry will struggle to develop, and we will continue to see patients seeking restorative and emergency treatment.
Through its ‘Tell Me About’ leaflets, the British Dental Health Foundation helped to inform and educate more than 1m people a year on a wide range of oral health topics. The foundation has a strict policy on plain English for all its educational material. The ‘Tell Me About’ range offers easy to understand information, which avoids medical jargon and includes diagrams outlining various stages of treatment. There are more than 50 titles in the range, which opens up a number of treatment options for the patient.
This importance of this approach is highlighted in the latest Skills for Life Survey published by the Department for Business and Innovation. It found that one in six adults aged 16-65 achieved literacy skills at or below entry Level 3 – the equivalent expected by the national curriculum of those leaving primary school. Shocking though this is the average reading age is only around 10 years old – just look at the language use in the Sun or Daily Mirror to confirm this. This will ultimately have an effect on a patient’s ability to read, understand and use oral healthcare information to make decisions and follow instructions for treatment. This is why the profession needs to make sure those who lack basic reading skills get the right information in a form that is more easily understood.
Patient education isn’t confined to the surgery. Teachers have a lot of pressure to deliver education that meets national targets in literacy, numeracy and areas such as personal, health and social education, including oral health. Educating children on the benefits of good oral health plays a key part in their upbringing. By working with local schools and sharing your knowledge and experience, there is every chance to really make a positive difference for many children in the UK, particularly in more deprived areas where inequalities in health are more apparent.
Oral health levels of children in the UK are generally very good but fundamental problems still exist. These are basic lessons we can pass on directly to children themselves and teach them the value of good oral hygiene. Preventive messages from this age can be carried on into later life. If children are encouraged to develop these habits while they can still be a fun, learning experience, they are more likely to take these habits into adulthood.
Dental Buddy hosts a series of educational resources for early years’ education, key stage one and key stage two, including activity sheets, lesson plans and interactive presentations. These, along with educational resources and motivators, can bring oral health to life. Whether you take them to a school as part of a presentation, use them in the practice to relax a nervous child or sell them to parents looking to motivate their child at home, they can help to deliver preventive messages to the future generation.