Communicative skills of health professionals and their particularities in dentists

Abstract

Introduction: The determination of communication skills is a subject of controversy in different sciences, with literature showing a considerable inconsistency and imprecision on the topic. Objectives: To determine the communication skills that healthcare professionals should develop and to assess the elements of communication skills that dentists should enhance. Methods: A narrative review was conducted in the period from February to April 2024, through the PubMed, Scielo, and Google Scholar search engines, using keywords in Spanish and English. A total of 241 books, theses and scientific articles were retrieved, of which the 40 most relevant for the study were included. Development: Many reviewed works advocate for communication skills such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Others propose communication skills from another perspective with similar evaluative criteria skills for expression, observation, and empathetic relationships. Additionally, studies proposing verbal, non-verbal, and metacommunicative skills were recorded; while few address them from informational, perceptual, and relational dimensions. Starting from the doctor-patient and dentist-patient relationship, the best approach for communication skills in health was found. Conclusions: The communication skills that healthcare professionals should develop are skills for expression, observation, and empathetic relationships. The elements of communication skills that dentists should enhance include exemplification, asking questions, eye contact, tone of voice and confidence, attentive listening, perception of moods and feelings, mindfulness, personalization in relationships, and emotional closeness.

Keywords

• comunicación
• habilidades sociales
• odontología
• relación médico-paciente
• rol profesional.