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A student guide to communicating a treatment plan

BDJ Student volume 28, pages 19–20 (2021)Cite this article

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By Aavan K Matharu

You've assessed your patient, taken their presenting complaint, histories, special tests, radiographs, and made your diagnosis but what comes next? As students, it is acceptable to acknowledge the overwhelming amount of information ascertained from the patient's history and exams. Carrying out the next step of treatment planning therefore comes with its fair share of 'information overload'. However, it is important to realise that although having variability, treatment planning is an essential and systematic method to effectively and ethically carrying out treatment for patients. It is a skill and thought process that will carry forward to your profession outside dental school. In the next few paragraphs, treatment planning will be broken down into stages to guide you through the communication process with your patients.

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References

  1. Bains C A, Burke F J T. Treatment Planning in General Dental Practice. 1st ed. London: Churchill Livingstone, 2003.

  2. Gulati, J. Crystal Clear Treatment Plans that Wow Patients and are Easy to Understand.[podcast on the Internet].London: Protrusive Dental Podcast; 2020. Available from: https://protrusive.co.uk/treatmentplans (Accessed July 2021).

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  1. Dublin Dental University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Aavan K Matharu

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  1. Aavan K Matharu
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Correspondence to Aavan K Matharu.

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Matharu, A. A student guide to communicating a treatment plan. BDJ Student 28, 19–20 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41406-021-0223-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41406-021-0223-5

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