During education, emphasis is often placed on the more formally challenging skills, on technical ability and knowledge. However, soft skills are invaluable across all careers and to dental professionals this applies more than most.

Someone that cannot articulate treatment details in a clear and convincing way creates uncertainty and doubt in the minds of patients and colleagues, leading to inefficiency – regardless of their acumen.

What do we mean when we say soft skills? These encompass a broad range of capabilities that include people skills, communication and social skills, as well as what may be considered productive attributes such as creative thinking and problem solving.

In part, soft skills have probably been under-emphasised in formal education due to the relative difficulty in evaluating them. It is hard to devise a test that can measure these more social and adaptive skills compared to areas with objective answers. This state of affairs also likely owes to an unspoken belief that soft skills are things that should be picked up automatically. Whilst they do come easier to some than others, these are learned skills that require knowledge and practice.

If you still think that soft skills sound a bit woolly, it may surprise you to learn that the term originated with the United States Army – an institution not often accused of being overly sentimental. The US military divided skills between hard (those requiring content expertise, such as using a specific technology) and soft, which was anything pertaining to managing people and preparing reports. The latter were indisputably essential to effective leadership and the day-to-day functioning of the military, so much so that a 1972 military conference concluded that no distinction should be made between the two and the term soft skills should be retired.[1] Of course, it is now almost fifty years later and yet the dichotomy has persisted.

Soft skills go further than communication, they can encompass aspects we consider to be attitudes and dispositions. A flexible mindset more readily adapts to challenges and problems; a resilient disposition grants endurance and can help you keep clear headed; empathy greatly benefits communication and interpersonal relationships; and so on. These ways of thinking are not innate and immutable, they can be learned and honed.[2] Learning to listen and absorb others’ experiences can help develop greater empathy. Mental flexibility can start from something as simple as knowing when to pause and consider if there is an alternative or something else you need to think about. These things may sound simple, but it is easy to get caught up in the flow of work and not mentally calibrate in the most optimal way for the task at hand.

These skills are the lifeblood of any enterprise, including the modern dental practice. Promoting treatments requires insight not only into how they work and what they achieve, but how to relate all this to patients. Effective communication is essential to working optimally with colleagues, and emotional intelligence can help manage and mitigate problems before they escalate and contribute to burnout. Developing soft skills has been reported to increase confidence and professionalism, as well as co-ordination and a more optimistic outlook.[3]

There are many ways to improve your soft skills, but central to doing so is regularly and honestly evaluating yourself. Review your interactions with patients and colleagues, to see if there is room for improvement. Whilst general soft skills are always a boon, dentistry has its unique aspects and many of these will be picked up through trial and error as you work.


[1] Parlamis J., Monnot M. Getting to the core: putting an end to the term “soft skills”. Journal of Management Inquiry. 2019; 28(2): 225-227. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1056492618818023 October 14, 2021.

[2] Claxton G., Costa A., Kallick B. Hard thinking about soft skills. Educational Leadership. 2016; 73(6): 60-64. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/hard-thinking-about-soft-skills October 14, 2021.

[3] Dalaya M., Ishaquddin S., Ghadage M., Hatte G. An interesting review on soft skills and dental practice. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2015; 9(3): 19-21. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4413170/ October 14, 2021.

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