In order to establish an even and patient-oriented relationship between patients and dentists, the importance of smooth, bi-directional communication should be increasingly recognized. Dentists should make efforts to explain the treatment contents and instruct oral health care using clear and understandable words. The dental terminology sometimes can be a barrier to better mutual understanding between patients and dentists. In this study, the recognition rate for dental terms in guardians of child patients was investigated using a questionnaire method. Also, the recognition rate of the guardians for dental terminology was speculated by pediatric dentists, dentists under first year residency and dental students of 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th year using the same questionnaire. Prior to asking them to complete the questionnaire, the purpose and content of this study was explained to the subjects and consent was obtained. Among the 33 dental terms, "gingiva", "wisdom tooth" and "milk teeth" were 100% recognized by the guardians and nine other terms showed a recognition rate of more than 90%. As for speculation by dentists and dental students, they estimated the recognition rate lower than the actual rates in many cases, which means that the possibility is low for them to make explanations using dental terminology that is unfamiliar to the guardians. There existed a certain amount of gap between the recognition rate of dental terminology in the guardians of child patients and the estimation by the dentists and dental students. These results indicated that the explanations by dentists to the guardians of child patients should be conducted confirming carefully that they understand it.
