About the book
School of Dentistry academics Dr Sowmya Shetty and Dr Jessica Zachar and students Wei Chen, Raewyn Huang and Wei Qi Zhang have partnered to develop Communication Essentials In Dentistry, an introduction to communication essentials for novice student dental practitioners on initial clinical placements involving medically complex patients.
Early clinical placements students have traditionally found the initial weeks confronting as they are often managing complex medically compromised patients.

This resource is an introduction to communication essentials for these student dental practitioners on their first clinical placement and how to manage patients with complex medical conditions.
It covers the essentials of communication with these patients and dental colleagues and primary health care teams involved in the person-centred care model.
The resource has:
- tips on building rapport with patients
- emphasises the importance of valid informed consent and meticulous record keeping
- the essential principles of prescription writing relating to the first clinical placement
- an introduction to specific medical conditions that routinely impact dental management of the patient.
The learning material is complimented by case studies that explore the interactions expected, dental implications and a brief introduction to clinical management of these patients.
The book was developed as part of the Student Staff Partnership (SSP) program at The University of Queensland.
This book is made possible by the Library’s Open Textbooks @ UQ program. We support the adoption or creation of open educational resources, such as this open textbook, that are free for everyone.