Dentist-patient relationship and quality care 1. Introduction

Although quality is a genuine concern for dentistry, nowadays more emphasis is placed on quality issues. As dentist-patient interaction is involved in many aspects of care and it is more crucial for dentistry when compared to many other professions, a good dentist-patient relationship is an integral element of quality care. This series of 'practice articles' examines various important dimensions of this interaction. The first and second papers examine the value of trust and communication, the third paper focuses on informed consent and the fourth paper evaluates the relatively broadened role of dentists in behavioural modification.