Chairside Manner
The interpersonal and communication style a dental clinician employs while treating a patient in the dental chair.
Full Definition
Chairside manner describes the behavioural and communicative approach a dentist or hygienist adopts during a patient appointment, encompassing empathy, clarity of explanation, and management of patient anxiety. In dental practice management literature and patient satisfaction surveys, the phrase is a recognised industry term analogous to 'bedside manner' in medicine. Editors should treat it as an open compound noun—no hyphen—and note that it is always lowercase unless beginning a sentence. It is commonly used in practice marketing copy, staff performance reviews, and patient experience reports.
Usage
Usage note: Write as two words, no hyphen. Lowercase in running text.
In Context
- "The performance review praised Dr Osei's chairside manner for reducing anxiety in paediatric patients." — Staff performance review
- "Marketing copy that references chairside manner should be written in an approachable, non-clinical register." — Practice marketing document