‘Childrenese’: A Pilot Survey on the Choice of Language in a Paediatric Dental Setting.

To ensure good communication with paediatric patients, members of the dental team typically avoid dental jargon by using appropriate substitution of words. This language of word replacement is sometimes termed ‘Childrenese’. This survey was carried out to collect a formulary of perceived effective and ineffective word replacements from paediatric dental team members. It assesses the impact of factors such as age and gender on the respondents’ word choice. The formulary aims to aid general dental practitioners in communicating with paediatric dental patients.