Abstract
Introduction: Communication as a concept should be thoroughly studied as nearly all organisational schemes include some form of communication. Hence, a lack of effective communication between the members can majorly impact the efficiency and the overall success of the organisation. This is especially true in the field of dentistry, as the methods in which dental clinicians and technicians communicate with each other can highly impact the quality of the constructed dental appliances. The aim of this literature review was to compare written and digital means of communication between dental clinicians and technicians and examine its effect on the dental appliances constructed.
Materials and Methods: A literature search was performed using databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, WileyOnlineLibrary and Discover@Bolton. The keywords used included the following: communication, dentist, technician, written, digital. The searches were limited to articles in English, published from 1960 to 2018.
Results: It was found that the majority of the research evidence reported that there are ongoing communication issues between dental clinicians and dental technicians when written means of communication are used. Therefore, alternative methods such as incorporating digital means of communication can enhance the quality of the interactions between the said parties which can lead to improvements in appliance construction.
Conclusions: The conducted research led to the conclusion that digital means of communication such as digital cameras, oral scanners, CAD-CAM, etc. can lead to a much more accurate and thorough exchange of information between dental clinicians and dental technicians. This can in turn lead to better appliance construction.