The days of the routine, medically uncomplicated dental patient are largely behind us. Today's patients arrive at the chair with a growing list of medications they are taking, systemic conditions, and anxieties that affect not only how they're treated clinically but how they need to be communicated with from the moment they walk through the door.
In this episode of The DrBicuspid.com Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Henry speaks with DrBicuspid Hygiene Editor Kelly Tanner, PhD, RDH, about what this shift means for the whole dental team, not just the clinician in the operatory.
Tanner, who has spent 30 years in clinical practice, makes a point early in the conversation that should reframe what most offices think about the medical history form. It is not paperwork. It is a decision-making tool -- one that carries information the front office, the assistant, the hygienist, and the doctor all need to read together.
A patient who checks the box for anxiety, osteoporosis, or an autoimmune condition is not just flagging a clinical concern. That information shapes how the entire team communicates, schedules, and prepares before the patient ever reaches the chair.
Tanner notes that the medication list, in particular, is often the key to explaining what the clinical team is seeing in the mouth. Dry mouth, bleeding patterns, soft-tissue changes -- many of the findings hygienists encounter daily trace back to medications that patients may not think to mention because they don't realize the connection. The conversation, with pharmacology educator Tom Viola, RPh, with whom Tanner co-hosts a podcast-style continuing education series called "Quit Dreaming, Start Teaming," has deepened her conviction that systemic literacy needs to be a whole-team competency, not just a clinical one.
The discussion also turns to communication -- how teams learn to read patients before and during the appointment, how that information gets relayed across roles, and how trust between patient and provider shapes whether a patient opens up about what's actually going on in their lives and bodies. Henry raises a question that resonates throughout the conversation: When practices onboard new team members, how often is communication actually being taught, not just assumed?
Tanner's answer is honest and practical. It starts with understanding yourself, your own communication style, and assumptions before you can effectively connect with someone else.
Continuing education courses from Tanner and Viola are available at rarebirddentalce.com.
Listen to the full conversation below.
