Poor dentist-patient communication affects patient satisfaction, trust, and treatment adherence. Studies show up to 30% of patients struggle to understand their dental treatment plans, leading to lower adherence and poorer outcomes. The specific context of this issue involves dental care settings where factors such as time constraints, technical language, and cultural differences create communication barriers. Dentist-patient communication is critical to the dental field because effective communication improves patient cooperation, reduces anxiety, and improves oral health outcomes. A systematic review was used to analyze existing research on dentist-patient communication, identifying key challenges and solutions. The main database used was Medline for relevant, peer-reviewed sources. Key themes identified included empathy, clear explanations, communication barriers, and non-verbal communication. These themes highlighted the need for improved communication training and patient-centered care in dentistry to enhance trust and treatment success. Future research can include a quantitative survey study to measure how communication affects patient retention and a qualitative phenomenological study to explore patient lived experiences and perspectives on dental communication.
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