Navigating complaints can be a stressful journey for both patients and practitioners alike, though one that can reap dividends when executed correctly.

Dental Protection has previously reviewed a number of cases in our series “The Tipping Point” – the moment in time when a disgruntled patient becomes a complainant can be precisely identified. Unfortunately, there are also many instances of cases where, while a complaint has been progressing smoothly, something occurs that causes this to unravel. 

A primary role of Dental Protection is to support and assist practitioners with complaints relating to treatment they have provided, or a critical third party such as the Dental Board has received a notification. Additionally, Dental Protections’ core philosophy focuses on helping members to prevent complaints escalating in the first place.

Unfortunately, the statistics indicate that complaints are on the rise, with approximately 1 in 19 dental practitioners receiving a complaint, according to the Ahpra 2024/25 Annual Report1. With this in mind, what are practitioners’ expectations as they navigate the complaints process? And, and are there any tools that can increase the chances or resolving a complaint, without unnecessary escalation? 

The Dental Board Code of Conduct is very clear on the expectations placed on practitioners in terms of their professional values and qualities, as well as their role in navigating the complaints process with patients. As registered health professionals, there is an expectation that further to clinical competence, they will conduct themselves to a standard befitting their standing in the community, displaying ethics and trustworthiness, and further, displaying qualities such as integrity, truthfulness, dependability and compassion.2 

The Code also sets out that patients have the right to raise concerns about their care, and similarly the expectation that practitioners work with patients to resolve the issue locally where possible3. Ultimately, if dealt with well, the complaints process can be valuable and constructive for both patients and practitioners alike, enabling mutual understanding and growth, and contributing to the improvement of patient care.

Even when practitioners are aware of these obligations and take the opportunity to engage with patients to resolve complaints, there are pitfalls which can inadvertently cause a situation to reignite unexpectedly. 

What you say and how you say it 

Aphra data shows that nearly half of all complaints received in 2024-2025 related to areas such as communication, behaviour and documentation4. This clearly demonstrates how a practitioner’s communication and behaviour can contribute to that tipping point, or more aptly, the proverbial lettuce sandwich that decoronated the heavily filled molar.

Dental Protection’s booklet – Handling Complaints: Australia – has been developed to assist practitioners with this in mind, reducing the likelihood of receiving a complaint. It also outlines how to design and embed an in-house complaints procedure, helping the whole team to navigate the complaints process and achieve the best outcome possible. This resource can be found on Dental Protection’s website: https://www.dentalprotection.org/australia/publications-resources/publications . 

With this in mind, we wanted to take the opportunity to consider two particular cases from the case vault, where a complaint being handled in house, has inadvertently come off the rails, and look at the specific considerations in each situation that contributed to a patient choosing to take their concerns to an external third party.

References 

1 Dental Board of Australia - 2024/25 annual summary https://www.dentalboard.gov.au/News/Annual-report.aspx 

2 The Code of Conduct, page 6, Professional values and qualities – Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Shared Code of conduct https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Code-of-conduct/Shared-Code-of-conduct.aspx

3 The Code of Conduct. 4.6 Complaints – Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Shared Code of conduct https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Code-of-conduct/Shared-Code-of-conduct.aspx
4 Most common types of complaints - Dental Board of Australia - 2024/25 annual summary https://www.dentalboard.gov.au/News/Annual-report.aspx