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Conversation, discourse and linguistic analysis in dental communication: valuable but under-used approaches

British Dental Journal volume 232, pages 875–878 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

According to Dental Protection, 'good dentists are good communicators, it's that simple!' Unfortunately, dental communication is an under-researched field, so it is not yet clear exactly what good communication in this context entails. The dominant method of researching dental communication to date has followed a 'process approach' where the focus has been on evaluating the communicative competence of the clinician using a checklist of communicative functions; for example, 'the clinician explains the condition'. Conversation analysis, discourse analysis and linguistic analysis are discursive approaches that bring precision by analysing the actual language/discourses being used by patients and providers in interactions. These discursive approaches can be used to capture exactly how, for example, patient engagement is maintained in routine dental consultations, patient reassurance is achieved during invasive procedures and which communication strategies are the most likely to result in enhanced treatment outcomes in paediatric dentistry. In addition to shedding new light on the unique nature of dental communication, discursive approaches provide targeted new tools for developing needs-based training packages for dental professionals.

Key points

  • Conversation, discourse and linguistic analysis focuses on the actual language used in consultations, which provides a new evidence base for dental communication studies.

  • These discursive approaches can be used to design targeted needs-based communications training.

  • Using discursive approaches for research and training can contribute to enhanced patient engagement and satisfaction with dental communication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PhD Student, School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Claredon Way, Leeds, LS2 9LU, UK

    Marion Bowman

  2. Associate Professor, School of Languages, University of Leeds, Michael Sadler Building, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Ruth Payne

  3. Lecturer, School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Claredon Way, Leeds, LS2 9LU, UK

    Karen Vinall-Collier

  4. Associate Professor, School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Claredon Way, Leeds, LS2 9LU, UK

    Aradhna Tugnait

Authors
  1. Marion Bowman
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  2. Ruth Payne
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  3. Karen Vinall-Collier
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  4. Aradhna Tugnait
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Contributions

Marion Bowman contributed to the investigation, writing the original draft and reviewing and editing. Ruth Payne, Karen Vinall-Collier and Aradhna Tugnait acted as co-supervisors and contributed to supervision and reviewing and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marion Bowman.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Bowman, M., Payne, R., Vinall-Collier, K. et al. Conversation, discourse and linguistic analysis in dental communication: valuable but under-used approaches. Br Dent J 232, 875–878 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4348-x

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