Patient-centred care - what is it and how is it practised in the dental surgery?

Objectives This paper explores the understanding and practice of patient-centred care (PCC) within dentistry. The aim of the research was to explore the nature of PCC, how PCC is taught and how it is practiced within a dental setting. Methods The results of a qualitative, interview-based study of dental professionals working across clinical and teaching positions within a dental school are presented. Results Results suggest that a shared understanding of PCC revolves round a basic sense of humanity ('being nice to patients'), giving information that is judged, by the clinician, to be in the patient's best interest and 'allowing' patient choice from a set of choices made available to patients by the clinicians themselves. Conclusions This research suggests that significant work is needed if dentists are going to conform to the General Dental Council guidelines on patient-centred practice and a series of recommendations are made to this end.