RESUMEN
If dental professionals want to improve the oral health of their patients, they need to address what makes them sick: the social determinants of health. In this article, we propose a model of 'social dentistry' that shows how dentists could tackle these fundamental causes of oral disease. Socially engaged dentists conduct actions at three levels. At the individual level, they provide patient-centred care and, when necessary, liaise with local resources to better address what makes their patients sick. At the community level, they adapt their practice to the needs of the most vulnerable groups and advocate for healthier local policies. At the societal level, they are engaged in upstream actions addressing the social determinants of health.
Asunto(s)
Odontología , Enfermedades Estomatognáticas/prevención & control , Odontología/métodos , Humanos , Modelos Teóricos , Rol Profesional , Determinantes Sociales de la SaludRESUMEN
Knowledge Transfer Statement: We are calling researchers, educators, and dental professionals to be at the forefront of actions addressing social determinants of health. We indeed argue that 1) it is the dentists' and other oral health care professionals' role to tackle social determinants of health and 2) as researchers and educators, we need to help clinicians in this endeavor and lead the development of a "social dentistry" movement.
Asunto(s)
Odontología , Determinantes Sociales de la Salud , Justicia Social , Medicina Social , Humanos , Rol Profesional , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Patient- or person-centred care is the current paradigm in the health profession yet there is still no clear understanding of what it means or how it could be implemented in dentistry. Building on a previously proposed person-centred model in clinical dentistry, in this article a person-centred dental clinical approach is presented. The approach consists of three guiding principles - humility, hospitality and mindfulness - that influence the different processes of the dental clinical encounter: connecting, examining, sharing, and intervening. The presented approach provides a rich opportunity for dentists to fine tune their own clinical approach in order to keep up with the upcoming expectations of their patients.
