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Palliative care dentistry
Author(s) -
Wiseman M A
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
gerodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1741-2358
pISSN - 0734-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-2358.2000.00049.x
Subject(s) - medicine , palliative care , empathy , compassion , affect (linguistics) , nursing , dentistry , quality of life (healthcare) , family medicine , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy , political science , law
The importance of dental care is often overlooked due to the omission of the dentist as a member of the palliative care team. However, many terminal patients exhibit oral difficulties that affect their quality of life. Palliative care dentists must exhibit empathy and compassion, and must be excellent communicators Dentists can play an important role in alleviating both the physical and psychological pain of dying. This paper describes the role of dentistry in palliative care.