An integral constituent of wellbeing entails the maintenance and promotion of optimal oral health, a task that is effectively achieved when the dental hygienist establishes a patient-centered corroborative relationship with the client. The formulation of a proper dental hygiene diagnosis requires the input of the client as well as the dental hygienist. From my observations of various procedures performed by practicing dental hygienists, I am convinced that the establishment of a patient-centered collaborative relationship between the client and the dental hygienist is critical in the achievement of the desired therapy, management, or treatment outcomes.
From my observations, it is evident that professional dental hygienists provide dental hygiene care to a wide range of patients with varying conditions, hence the need to demonstrate competence not only in therapy and treatment, but also in providing advice to clients. I have had the opportunity to observe dental hygienists diagnosing and treating various oral conditions such as caries, periodontal disease and tooth wear, and also prescribing radiographs, applying topical treatments and fissure sealants, placing temporary dressings, re-cementing crowns with temporary cement, and providing advice to clients having oral conditions arising from lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption. In all these interventions, I am convinced that the establishment of an effective client-centered collaborative relationship between the professional and the client is critical in the attainment of successful therapy, treatment or management outcomes.
An effective client-centered collaborative relationship, in my view, is instrumental in assisting the hygienist to conduct an assessment that is grounded on the collection and interpretation of information to arrive at an appropriate dental hygiene diagnosis. Informed by my observations in practice settings and interactions with the professionals, I am of the opinion that client-centered collaborative relationships are critical in enabling dental hygienists to collect client’s baseline data using appropriate methodology, identify important determinants of health and risk factors, and also assess client’s knowledge, attitudes, and skills on respective oral health conditions. It is important to mention that conducting an assessment is the first step towards treatment or management of oral health problems, hence the need for the establishment of a client-centered relationship.
It is my reasoned opinion that the establishment of a client-centered collaborative relationship between the dental hygienist and client is also instrumental in planning the necessary interventions. From my observations, I feel that such a relationship not only facilitates the client’s active participation in the development of therapy or treatment plans, but also assists in the identification of resources and dental hygiene interventions depending on presenting needs. Indeed, these observations have helped me to understand how a professional dental hygienist identifies the needs of a client and reaches consensus with them regarding desired treatment, therapy, or management outcomes.
Moving on, it has been observed that establishing a client-centered collaborative relationship is critical in reviewing and confirming the dental hygiene plan, implementing and monitoring strategies to enhance health and self-care for the client, communicating with the client in an open and honest way, as well as developing and enhancing policies supporting healthy lifestyles. On one occasion during my observation sessions, I noticed how crucial it is for the dental hygienist to establish effective client-centered relationships with clients not only to get the leverage needed to implement treatment or management interventions, but also to bring clients on board in the management of their own oral health problems through self-care. In a way, it seems that the establishment of an effective client-centered collaborative relationship provides the needed impetus to positively influence clients in following prescribed interventions according to treatment or management plans. It also seems that the establishment of such a relationship empowers clients to be in control of their own problems and oral health challenges through the assistance of dental hygienists.
Lastly, from my observations of these professionals in practice settings, it is clear that the establishment of a client-centered collaborative relationship between the client and the dental hygienist is essential in the evaluation of dental hygiene outcomes such as client satisfaction and practice visits using a multiplicity of data gathering, analysis and communication approaches. Upon interacting with professionals during my observation sessions, I am confident of the fact that dental hygienists must undertake an evaluation of their treatment or management interventions with the view to analyzing the outcomes to include, if appropriate, the generation and preservation of practice reports, client databases, and statistical summaries. In my opinion, an evaluation covering all these variables may not be possible in the absence of an effective client-centered collaborative relationship.
Overall, it is clear from my observations that an effective client-centered relationship between the dental hygienist and the client is essential not only for care delivery, but also in assisting the professionals to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate interventions along the care continuum. This paper therefore concludes that the effectiveness of the therapy, treatment, or management interventions provided by dental hygienists largely depends on how well client-centered collaborative relationships are established and maintained.