Exam Pass Notes

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Core Ideas

• Patients may complain about clinical outcomes, pain, cost, delay, communication, attitude, access, cleanliness or feeling ignored.
• Dental nurses often hear concerns that patients do not feel able to raise with the dentist.
• Emotional intelligence means noticing discomfort, hesitation, tone and any mismatch between words and behaviour.
• A patient saying "fine" does not always mean they understood or felt heard.

First Response

• Listen calmly, acknowledge the concern and avoid arguing.
• Offer privacy if the complaint is raised at reception or in a public area.
• Do not investigate alone, admit liability, promise refunds, or make clinical judgements outside your role.
• Record what was said, what you observed, what you did and who you informed.
• Escalate to the complaints lead, dentist, manager or owner as appropriate.

Routes and Records

• Patients should be able to complain verbally, in writing, by email, by telephone or through another accessible route.
• A complaints form can help but should not become a barrier to raising concerns.
• The practice must provide clear information about the complaints process and external routes.
• Complaint records should be factual, respectful and free from judgemental labels.
• Patients should be reassured that raising concerns will not compromise their care.

Boundaries and Learning

• Online reviews must be handled without disclosing patient information.
• Compensation requests, legal threats, serious clinical criticism or possible negligence should be escalated and may require indemnity advice.
• Complaints should be reviewed to identify learning, not simply closed for administration.
• Learning may prompt changes to communication, privacy, estimates, aftercare, accessibility, staff training or systems.