Early clinical placements in dentistry occur in year 3 for BDSc hons students at the University of Queensland. Currently these are all in a Queensland Health facility. The students have traditionally found the initial weeks confronting as they are often managing complex medically compromised patients. Whilst ideally the students should manage medically fit patients for simple examinations and routine dental work, the reality of clinical placements is that often the public health setting will mean the inexperienced early clinical student will be managing routine dental work for complex patients. This resource is an introduction to communication essentials for novice student dental practitioners experiencing, initial clinical placements involving medically complex patients. It covers the basics of communication, elements of effective patient dentist interactions, tips for building rapport and fostering relationships to elicit detailed medical information, introduction to consent and record keeping, communicating with dental and inter professional teams, the principles of prescription writing, and an overview of specific medical conditions that routinely affect 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.
