A mindset and a skillset which, if properly applied, can lead to more fruitful patient and team interactions

Chief among the key topics at the forefront of dentistry has been artificial intelligence (AI). Regular readers will recall a recent column in which I declared that, while I am very happy to work with ChatGPT – it is still no match for ChatGDP!

Another topic that is becoming increasingly important (from an awareness and practical viewpoint)
is emotional intelligence. This is sometimes abbreviated to EI or EQ (emotional quotient). 

EI is often seen as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage and handle emotions. It seems self-evident that this should form a core area of study in the dental surgery where many emotions are seen everyday, from the happy post-treatment patient with their new restoration to the anxious dental trauma patient. 

Yet, this area has been largely underserved by awareness, or indeed literature, from a dental perspective.

Recently, at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), a book, Emotional Intelligence in Dentistry: “Open Wide” – The Five Critical Skills to Take Dentists from Good to Great, was launched by its editor, Dr Mary Collins. Dr Collins is a psychologist based at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences in Dublin.

Dr Collins recruited dental contributors from across many oral health and allied disciplines and sought
case-led examples from clinical practice to explore, highlight and apply lessons in EI. 

The book identifies five essential EQ competencies:

•  Self-knowing
•  Self-control
•  Empathy
•  Relationship skills
•  Self-actualisation.

Each competency is explored through a combination of theory (authored by Dr Collins alongside contributors) and real-world perspectives from practising dental professionals, making the content both instructive and relatable. 

For my own part, I was honoured to contribute to the chapter on relationship skills. I am not a psychologist but, like the other fellow clinicians, I have spent many years treating patients. 

Regular readers will also recall that I have long advocated for a broader, more holistic curriculum for undergraduate dentistry to include modules on psychology, healthcare finance and EI (to name but a few). These disciplines tend to be underserved in current undergraduate curricula and even in postgraduate oral health programmes. However, we can see changes afoot, particularly with the launch of the RCSI’s Dental Education Centre.

When thinking about relationship skills, as clinicians, we tend to focus on our interactions with our patients. Dentistry, by its nature, is an interventive discipline with trust at its centre. This is right and proper, as patient-centred care is the service delivery model. 

That said, the relationship skills chapter in the book examines clinicians’ relationships with fellow team members, fellow clinicians, specialists and others. 

It is often the case that, as clinicians, we are task-led. This chapter, and the book in general, asks if we can look further than the patient and the chair.

As an example, I often cite liaising with specialists. We are frequently working hand-in-glove with our restorative, orthodontic and oral surgery colleagues, to name but a few. After treatment is completed by their specialist hands, our patients return to us for continued management. 

These interactions with our specialist colleagues tend to be transactional by nature and, I wonder, are we missing something here? We all lead busy clinical lives, where each day can be demanding both from a clinical skills viewpoint and a social battery viewpoint. It is often a good idea to schedule a (brief) phone call with your referral team of specialists to better understand not just their workflow, but their own clinical demands  and how better (perhaps) joint patient management can occur. For example, which cases form priority in their clinical workflow?

Ultimately, EI is both a mindset and a skillset which, if properly examined and applied, can lead to more fruitful patient and team interactions, improving workplace culture and patient satisfaction. 

The book Emotional Intelligence in Dentistry is pioneering in this field and I suspect it will form
a cornerstone.

Dr Paul O’Dwyer  BDS MSc (Healthcare Management)

Tags: AI, ChatGPT, Emotional, Intelligence