Effective communication is the key to high quality health care. Without good communication skills, the exchange of evidence-based scientific information and the establishment of a trusting and therapeutic relationship for shared decision making that will lead to positive, person-centered health outcomes, is not possible. Our patients look to us, as oral health care professionals, to be able to give them treatment options that are based on sound science. This is particularly challenging in today’s information overload/infodemic environment where we are flooded with information and the credibility of science is being challenged on a daily basis.
Addressing health misinformation, or information that is false, inaccurate or misleading when compared to the best available scientific evidence, was a major priority of the United States Surgeon General in 2021.1 Even more concerning is the spread of disinformation, wrong information that is deliberately deceptive and used for the material gain of another individual or entity. One only has to look at the daily news to see the ongoing challenges medical science and the public are facing in evaluating the research that is informing health care policy as well as the health care decisions people make on a daily basis.
According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2024, while about 76% of the American public expressed either a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interest, only 45% describer research scientists as good communicators.2 This is where the challenge lies, the ability to tell the story behind the science. All health care providers, including dental hygienists, need to be prepared to proactively engage with patients and the public to address questions and concerns related to medical and dental science. Not only do we need to be able to read the primary research, but we also need to be able to explain what it means in language that is understandable to the lay person. For many clinicians, this may sound far more academic than what you bargained for when pursuing a career as a dental hygienist! However, wouldn’t you expect your personal physician to be familiar with the current research on your particular health condition?
Take fluoride for example. Community water fluoridation has been considered amongst one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Currently, an estimated 72% of public water sources contain added fluoride.3 Additional sources of fluoride have increased significantly since Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first city in the United States to add fluoride to its water supply in 1944. The first toothpaste with added fluoride came on the market in 1956 and since then numerous topical formulations have been made available for professional application. While concerns about fluoride safety are not new, most have been dismissed due to lack of supporting scientific evidence or flawed methodology. Fluoride, however, has been in the news recently with two states, Utah and Florida, having banned it from the public water supply, while the Food and Drug Administration has initiated actions to remove concentrated ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market.4
Now, picture yourself caring for a pediatric patient and the mother or caregiver has indicated concerns about fluoride for their child. Reports from poorly conducted studies continue to persist causing fear and reluctance to use fluoride for caries management and prevention.5 How will you explain the science of what is known in terms that are approachable and respectful? How will you listen to the sources of their fears and respond? Reading the published literature is a good place to start.
Which brings me back to explaining the science. Before we can explain a scientific concept to someone else, we must first understand it ourselves. Exposure to scientific research should begin as a fundamental component of our education process. While conducting original research projects may not be possible within the confines of the entry level curriculum, reading and discussing research papers, methodologies, results and implications is possible in any program. Using a literature review as an assignment as described in this issue, can be a good step in making research relatable to topics across the curriculum.
Learning how to communicate scientific concepts to peers as well as the general public is the second skill that begins during dental hygiene education. The language of science always needs to fit the audience. While good verbal skills are required for patient care on a daily basis, scientific writing is the communication style for research publications and enables the sharing of new science-based information with the profession. Effective scientific writing requires practice and a commitment to sharing unbiased and accurate research findings.
Our patients and the general public need to have access to the most current therapies based on sound science. We have a responsibility to understand the science and share what is known.
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