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What should people expect from person-centred dental visits? The Montreal-Toulouse Wheel of expectations

British Dental Journal volume 231, pages 249–253 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

There is a dearth of tools designed to inform people about what to expect from person-centred dental encounters and to guide them during the care process. This is why we propose the Montreal-Toulouse Wheel of patients' expectations for dental visits, which describes what people could expect during person-centred clinical encounters. The Wheel comprises four core expectations: 1) be understood; 2) be respected; 3) have power; and 4) be given enough time. It also includes three expectations that are more specific to the process of care: 5) be informed and understand; 6) share decisions with the dentist and even co-construct the treatment plan; and 7) be comfortable during clinical procedures and the whole care process. We also propose a Q-List to help patients reflect on their relationship with dental professionals and engage them in person-centred dental care. This Q-List describes the seven expectations of the Wheel and provides open-ended questions that we invite patients to reflect upon. We also hope that dental professionals and educators will find the Wheel and the Q-List useful to develop person-centredness and promote inclusive and equitable dentistry.

Key points

  • The Montreal-Toulouse Wheel of expectations presents what people should expect during person-centred dental visits.

  • It comprises four core expectations, plus three expectations that reflect the clinical process.

  • The Wheel of expectations comes with a Q-List - a series of open questions - to help patients reflect on their relationship with dentists and engage in person-centred care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor, Oral Health & Society Division, Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1G1, Canada

    Christophe Bedos

  2. Centre Dentaire Jean Talon, 524 Jean Talon W. Suite 1, Montreal, Quebec, H3N 1R5, Canada

    Nareg Apelian

  3. Senior Lecturer, Hospital Practitioner, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UFR Odontologie de Toulouse, Toulouse Hospital, 3 Chemin des Maraîchers, 31062 Cedex, Toulouse, France; Oral Health & Society Division, Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Jean-Noel Vergnes

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Correspondence to Christophe Bedos.

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Bedos, C., Apelian, N. & Vergnes, JN. What should people expect from person-centred dental visits? The Montreal-Toulouse Wheel of expectations. Br Dent J 231, 249–253 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-3322-3

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