Patient preferences on sharing private information in dental settings

The authors conducted a study to understand patients' preferences and comfort levels in discussing personal medical, behavioral, and social information with their oral health care providers.

A self-report survey was completed by US adults 18 years and older (N = 387) using Amazon Mechanical Turk, an online research portal for survey-based research. The survey assessed comfort discussing demographics, physical health, behavioral health, oral health, and living conditions with oral health providers.

Factor analysis suggested that participants were comfortable discussing demographics and standard dental questions but were less comfortable answering questions about trauma, stress, coping, and living and behavioral patterns. Demographics did not predict comfort with disclosure, and many participants did not feel personal information was relevant to oral health care.

Community education efforts can focus on helping patients understand how oral health is related to behavioral health and social conditions.

Dental education should focus on helping oral health care providers communicate comfortably around these topics, balancing education with respect for a patient's willingness to disclose.