WELCOME
Hello, and welcome to Toni Adams.com. I am Toni, a career dental hygienist who has a particular interest in communication. I have a Master degree in Communication Studies with particular emphases in Health, Instructional, and Intercultural Communication. I enjoy speaking and writing about the junction between dental hygiene and communication. Since communication is a critical component of health care, which includes dental care, this is a natural combination, which I explain below.

Because of my background that includes over 9 years of communication research experience and over 26 years of dental hygiene experience, I want my website to be a communication resource for dental hygienists. Here I provide information about my educational experiences, links to related websites, a resource list, and other information that I hope you will find helpful. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions or are in need of a guest speaker for your event, please contact me.

Of note for my Communication Studies colleagues:
Dental Hygienists are individuals licensed to provide oral health care in order to preserve or restore both oral and general health. These professionals specialize in the prevention and non-surgical treatment of periodontal (gum) disease. This care is especially significant today when so much research confirms and postulates links between periodontal disease and diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and numerous other health problems.

Of note for my Dental colleagues:
Communication Studies is a discipline that focuses on interactions, relationships, the sharing of information, and meaning making between and among individuals and groups. The Communication discipline meets Dentistry in a focus called Health Communication. Healthy People 2010 devoted a whole chapter to Health Communication and defined it as the use of “communication strategically to improve health” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2000, p.11-3). This field includes the study of interactions in health settings among health providers, office staff members, patients/clients, and their families.

I also focus on two other areas of study. Instructional Communication is the study of interactions in school or training contexts among instructors and students. Intercultural Communication is the study of interactions among diverse individuals, especially those from various ethnic and cultural groups. For further information, I have collected a few resources that I hope you will find useful. To access these resources, please click here and feel free to make requests for additional information.

PHILOSOPHY & GOALS
“Communication skills…help you address the art of medicine, which helps you practice the science of medicine, so that the business of medicine can support your art and science.” Desmond & Copeland, 2000

I strive to assist dental professionals with communication issues, especially in regards to culture. Communication has always been a key component in the delivery of health care. Before the advent of modern medicine, it was often all a practitioner had to offer. Today it is central to the patient-provider relationship as well as to patient motivation, cooperation, satisfaction, and health outcomes. Competent communicators are better able to understand patients’ views and thus deliver patient-centered individualized care and practice evidence-based decision-making in dentistry. Dental professionals who can elicit and share accurate and complete information excel at understanding and collaborating with patients to determine mutually agreed upon plans for care.

Though the melting pot metaphor is passé, the United States has been variously referred to as a cultural stew, salad bowl, tapestry, quilt, and mosaic. No matter how it is put, we are and always have been a diverse nation. Heterogeneity is our heritage but such cultural diversity creates communication challenges. This is certainly true in the delivery of healthcare where miscommunication can impact quality of life and even literally make the difference between life and death. These issues are especially relevant today when knowledge about the relationships between oral and general health continues to expand.

My goal in writing and speaking is to assist dental professionals to enhance their overall communication competence and especially their understanding of intercultural communication.