Dental patient education: self-care to healthy human development.

Abstract

Credited with a long history of providing preventive care, dentists are challenged by increasing demands from better educated consumers interested in improving their health and caring for themselves. The task of administering patient education services, identifying patients at risk, targeting specific behaviors for change, and managing costs is the subject of this case study. The Self-Care Motivation Model described here, is used to develop a patient education/smoking cessation/lifestyle change program for a patient with numerous dental and general health disturbances. Time and cost saving methods for administering such total patient care are discussed. Suggestions for reframing the context of dental patient education and health behavior change initiatives to include general healthy human development competencies are provided.