[Problems with dental information given to patients. A report by the consumer organisation]

The objective of this study was to investigate the information problems of Dutch dental patients in the years 1993-1995. Using a self-developed scale, the dental files of a consumer organisation were analysed and the information problems counted and categorised. Of all the dental dossiers 48% concerned information problems. The largest categories were: insufficient information about finances, insufficient information about the treatment/outcomes and the negligence of the information, complaints and questions of the patients. Together these categories make up 75% of the information problems. The results of this study stress that dentists should offer better structured information. More attention should also be paid to the abilities of the dentists to be communicative and to manage conflicts.