V3I7P62

The Hidden Determinants of Clinical Excellence’: Non-Technical Skills in Dentistry- A Review

Dr. B. LakshmanaRao^1*, V. Dal Singh², Dr. M. Vaishnavi Devi³ ,Dr. B. Krishnaveni⁴, Dr. D. Srikanth⁵ , Dr. Rajendra Prasad⁶

Abstract

Traditionally, modern dentistry has focused on technical and psychomotor skills, but increasing research suggests that most clinical errors and adverse events are not because of a lack of manual dexterity, but because of failures in the surrounding cognitive and interpersonal domains. The non-technical skills (NTS) of communication, teamwork, leadership, situational awareness, decision-making and stress management have been formally studied in the fields of surgery and anaesthesia for over two decades and are now being systematically adapted to dentistry with the development of tools such as DeNTS (Dental Non-Technical Skills). The core domains of NTS in dentistry are reviewed, the evidence for their association with patient safety, treatment outcomes and practitioner wellbeing is discussed and the way in which each domain indirectly complements the direct technical skills of the dental surgeon is discussed. Better communication leads to enhanced diagnostic accuracy and treatment compliance. The teamwork and leadership enhance efficiency in four-handed dentistry and decrease procedural mistakes. Situational awareness and structured decision-making enable early detection of complications. Emotional self-regulation guarantees precision in clinical practice and long-term career viability. The paper ends by stating that NTS should be taught, tested and role-modelled alongside technical competences throughout undergraduate and postgraduate dentistry curricula as the two domains are not parallel but interdependent components of safe, high-quality patient care.

Keywords:

Non-technical skills; Human factors; Communication skills; Teamwork; Emotional intelligence