HJAR Sep/Oct 2025

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2025 41 Niki Carter, DMD, MPH Dental Director Delta Dental of Arkansas Education Is the Cornerstone of Patient-Centric Care Health literacy is crucial in patient-centric care, as it equips individuals to play an ac- tive role in their healthcare decisions and manage their care. It is the responsibility of healthcare professionals to educate their patients and encourage preventive mea- sures to avoid disease before it begins. For example, the bidirectional association of periodontal disease and diabetes is an area where more patients need to be educated, especially when they have both chronic dis- eases. The fact that neither of these chronic diseases can improve unless both are either treated or maintained is key. 16 Conversing plainly and discussing hab- its, lifestyle, big life changes, or barriers can open needed dialogue. When these topics include smoking, diet, disrupted sleeping, tobacco use, grinding teeth, or any other habits, new information is shared. Trouble sleeping and bruxism can signal stress issues, perhaps with a psychological problem as the underlying cause, for which the patient needs a referral. Protecting teeth with a nightguard will minimize damage to teeth, but won’t treat the mental health ele- ment of the issue. Smoking or alcohol use may also be contributing to disrupted sleep patterns, and the patient should be informed of this potential cause. At the core of patient-centric care is be- ing able to converse frankly and trust the healthcare professional. Establishing good rapport and making certain patients’health needs are met for improving quality of life and well-being is the goal. Removing the barriers and talking through various chal- lenges to the patient’s individual concerns is a good step in taking away the stigma of “the doctor knows best” notion. The goal is treating in the best interest of the patient, while preventing disease through healthy measures. n REFERENCES 1 Robert D. Truog, “Patients and Doctors — The Evolution of a Relationship,” New England Journal of Medicine 366, no. 7 (2012): 581–85, https://doi. org/10.1056/NEJMp1110848. 2 Kathleen Johnston Roberts, “Patient Empowerment in the United States: A Critical Commentary,” Health Expectations 2, no. 2 (1999): 82–92, https://doi. org/10.1046/j.1369-6513.1999.00048.x. 3 Qing Wu et al, “The Relationship Between the Physician-Patient Relationship, Physician Empathy, and Patient Trust,” Journal of General Internal Medicine 36, no. 6 (2022): 1388–93, https://doi. org/10.1007/s11606-021-07008-9. 4 Norman Sartorius, “The Meanings of Health and Its Promotion,” Croatian Medical Journal 47, no. 4 (2006): 662–64, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ articles/PMC2080455/. 5 Arden Mills et al, “Improving Patient Well-Being as a Broader Perspective in Dentistry,” International Dental Journal 73, no. 6 (2023): 785–92, https://doi. org/10.1016/j.identj.2023.05.005. 6 Farzana Hoque, “Shared Decision-Making in Patient Care: Advantages, Barriers and Potential Solutions,” Brown Hospital Medicine 3, no. 4 (2024): 13–15, https://doi.org/10.56305/001c.122787. 7 Uma Kelekar and Shillpa Naavaal, “Hours Lost to Planned and Unplanned Dental Visits Among US Adults,” Preventing Chronic Disease 15 (2018): 170225, http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd15.170225. 8 Effect of Oral Health on the Community, Overall Well-Being, and the Economy,” in Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 2021), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK578297. 9 Nathalie Clavel et al, “Patient Engagement in Care: A Scoping Review of Recently Validated Tools Assessing Patients’ and Healthcare Professionals’ Preferences and Experience,” Health Expectations 24, no. 6 (2021): 1925–35, https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13344. 10 Victor Montori et al, “Shared Decision-Making as a Method of Care,” BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 28, no. 4 (2023): 213–17, https://doi.org/10.1136/ bmjebm-2022-112068. 11 Bilal Talha and Suman A. Swarnkar, “Xerostomia,” in StatPearls (StatPearls Publishing, 2025), https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545287/. 12 Curd Bollen and Thomas Beikler, “Halitosis: The Multidisciplinary Approach, International Journal of Oral Science 4, no. 2 (2012): 55–63, https://doi. org/10.1038/ijos.2012.39. 13 Matteo Saccucci et al, “Autoimmune Diseases and Their Manifestations on Oral Cavity: Diagnosis and Clinical Management,” Journal of Immunology Research 2018, no. 1 (2018): 6061825, https://doi. org/10.1155/2018/6061825. 14 “Oral Health and Overall Health,” Delta Dental of Indiana, https://www.deltadentalin.com/Producer/ Wellness?articleid=344. 15 Sascha Keij et al, “What Makes a Patient Ready for Shared Decision Making? A Qualitative Study,” Patient Education and Counseling 104, no. 3 (2021): 571–77, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.08.031. 16 Ioana Păunică et al, “The Bidirectional Relationship Between Periodontal Disease and Diabetes Mellitus: A Review,” Diagnostics (Basel) 13, no. 4 (2023): 681, https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13040681. potential risks of each of these options. In achieving the ideal treatment outcomes, expectations should be discussed and the patient’s social well-being taken into ac- count, since it takes time to obtain the best outcome. Patient engagement and collabo- ration are of utmost importance and serve as goals in patient-centric care. 9 Placing the patient at the center of treat- ment decisions assists in identifying how the issue at hand is to be approached. 10 For instance, in assessing the chief complaint of xerostomia and halitosis, the two conditions may or may not be related. With xerostomia, it’s much more common that poor oral hy- giene can exacerbate this condition, but the underlying cause is primarily due to medica- tions and/or underlying systemic disease. 11 Conversely, 85% of halitosis is due to poor oral hygiene, with a smaller percent- age being associated with systemic illness or medications. 12 Both conditions can have a huge impact on quality of life, social interac- tion, and psychological health. Being able to candidly discuss these conditions with the patient and discern the causes is paramount. The oral cavity has often been described as the window to the body. There are an es- timated 120 diseases that dentists can detect when performing an oral evaluation. 13,14 As important as it is to diagnose decay, it’s even more important to detect early signs of oral cancer. A patient-centric type approach is especially meaningful in the cases of oral cancer, since patients need to be informed to be able to make decisions appropriately, especially regarding life-saving therapies. 15 This makes the clinician-patient relationship evenmore important, since it’s essential that the patient feels free to ask questions and collaborate openly in their best interests.