Enhancing patient-centred care in dentistry: a narrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Patient-centred care (PCC) is widely used within the medical setting, but there is a need for more research on PCC implementation in dentistry. Sources of data: A narrative review was conducted with literature identified from the Ovid Interface, including several databases such as Embase and Medline. Areas of agreement: PCC is associated with better health outcomes for patients, and greater work satisfaction among healthcare professionals. Areas of controversy: Efforts to implement PCC in dentistry are lacking due to several issues including non-consensus about PCC definition and lack of explicit guidelines on how to implement PCC in dentistry. Growing points and areas timely for developing research: A theory-derived model of PCC explicitly designed for the dental setting was identified. This serves as a starting point to enhance PCC in dentistry, though further research is needed to empirically test the implementation of this model.