(PO-033) New Era of Narrative Medicine in Dental Education and Health Care

Author: Delilah Leibowitz, M.S. – MS, NYU College of Dentistry
Author: Katayoon Noroozi-Leibowitz, D.D.S. – Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU College of Dentistry
Submitter: Delilah Leibowitz, M.S. – MS, NYU College of Dentistry

Our aim is to introduce the importance of Narrative Medicine in health care and its effectiveness in Dentistry. It is an interdisciplinary field emphasizing close listening and witnessing the “other”. Narrative Medicine offers dentists support in developing better relationships and fostering patient trust and satisfaction.

The review of Social Science and Medicine, Journal of Mental Health, among other resources showed a gap between Narrative Medicine and clinical education in oral health care. Dentistry is unique in that practitioners take on the role of a therapist; the dental chair becomes a safe space where patients can share their stories. Narrative Medicine uncovers the importance of dialogue within the clinical setting, where the dentist should take on a decentered role, to challenge the traditional norms of power and privilege.

Goleman and Ekman have outlined three forms of empathy: cognitive, emotional, and compassionate. In Dentistry and healthcare, compassionate empathy intertwined with Narrative Medicine, is the most beneficial as it empathizes with another and inspires a call to help. This approach allows doctors to honor their patient’s stories, offer deeper healing, and foster connections. It emphasizes that people are more than their diagnosis and the power of storytelling through narration will aid the practitioner in engaging and listening with humility, as we can never comprehend the totality of another’s life story.

We display the effectiveness of Narrative Medicine’s tools in Dentistry and educate those who are unfamiliar with the field. This methodology should be combined with ADA’s Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct as a professional standard for dentists. This approach teaches about human connection and that everyone carries a unique story within them. The benefits of Narrative Medicine extend into alleviating caregiver burnout, where narrative and dialogue are at the forefront of such efforts while clarifying burnout’s visible and invisible factors.