A 13 year old girl was sent by her dentist to the local general hospital for corrective work to be done on her teeth. The senior consultant, who was regarded extremely highly for his work, showed the girl pictures of his greatest triumphs in the form of before and after pictures. The girl was left with the memory of images that were disturbing to her, and as a result required a further six months of convincing before going back for the treatment. Her eventual treatment consisted of waits of up to an hour followed by sessions of up to three quarters of an hour treatment in which the consultant barely spoke. The girl was not told about what was being done, but was only told what to do After a number of sessions, this consultant was promoted and the girl was then treated by a second consultant, who never kept her waiting for more than ten minutes. During the treatment sessions, which never took more than 20 minutes, he continually explained what he was doing, asked her opinion and then agreed with her the next stage of treatment. The girl had no way of knowing which consultant provided the best treatment, but she was convinced that the first consultant should have been sacked and the second promoted. 

What is your thoughts about the case? Do you think the patient want to see if the dentist is demonstrating efficiency and effectiveness to feel them secure? If you were the consultant, how will you show sensitivity to the specific needs of the patient?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

I agree with the 13yearold patients assessment regarding the image presented by the two consultants The first consultant was cold and inconsiderate an... View the full answer