Communications--the future of dentistry

Superior communication is a vital key to success in practice. Excellent communication with patients and prospective patients can build a practice more quickly than any other technique. Strengthening of team relationships depends on open communication. Sound communication builds long-term allegiance from patients who accept recommended treatment, enroll in the recare system, and refer others. And connecting with other health-care providers is an exciting challenge in communication. This article explores avenues of communication--with patients, with prospective patients, with coworkers and with other health-care providers through five techniques: listening, speaking, writing, reading, and nonverbal/body language. The author shares specific ideas and methods for honing these five skills to assure improvements in communication, the universal glue that binds people together and assures excellence in practice.