Achieving Oral Health
The Social Context of Dental Care
By- Ray Croucher, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Dental Public Health, Department of Dental Public Health, St. Bartholmew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London
- Gerry Kent, PhD, DipClinPsychol, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Sheffield, UK
Personal communication between dentist and patient is of primary importance in dental practice. Dentist-patient relationships can present problems when patients are nervous or require particular forms of care and an awareness of the views and expectations of individual. This book provides the means to understand, prevent and treat many of the difficulties encountered by dentists. It describes the principles of psychology and sociology applied to dental practice, giving specific guidelines on the most effective way to deal with psychological problems, such as anxiety and pain.
This new edition places more emphasis on the link between the sociological and psychological aspects of care related to public health and health promotion concerns. Awareness of these issues continues to increase in line with growing research output, and their importance is stressed in current General Dental Council Recommendations for the dental undergraduate curriculum. The subsequent surge in interest and understanding of the issues involved in dental anxiety, preventive health care, dentist-patient relationships and the care of specific patient groups means that an updated text covering these areas is extremely timely.
Paperback, 208 Pages
Published: March 1998
Imprint: Butterworth Heinemann
ISBN: 978-0-7236-1057-1
Contents
- CONTENTS: Foreword (Professor F C Smales); Acknowledgements; 1. Challenges for modern dentistry: Achieving oral health; Aims of the book; References; 2. The social context of oral health: Definitions of health; What is oral health? Variations in oral health; Social class; The contribution of the dentist to achieving oral health; Summary; Practice implications; References; 3. Lay and professional contributions to oral health: Formal and informal health care activity; Health behaviour and illness behaviour; Accessing primary dental care; Becoming a dentist; Summary; Practice implications; References; 4. Helping patients to achieve oral health: Models of health behaviour; The educational approach; The motivational approach; Designing a preventative programme; Summary; Practice implications; References; 5. The nature and causes of anxiety: The nature of anxiety; The causes of anxiety; Summary; Practice implications; References; 6. Alleviating anxiety: Modelling; Reducing uncertainty; Emotional support; Relaxation; Cognitive approaches; Choosing between interventions; Summary; Practice implications; References; 7. Pain: The experience of pain; Measuring pain; Alleviating pain; Summary; Practice iomplications; References; 8. Special groups: Orthodontics; Elderly patients; Patients with handicaps; Mental health problems; Summary; Practice implications; References; 9. Communication and consent in dental practice: Communication; Teaching communication skills; Ethical issues; Summary; Practice implications; References; Index.
