What Questions Should You Ask Your Dentist at Your First Visit?
August 24, 2026 · Dentist Büşra KayanEver left an appointment thinking "I wish I'd asked about that"? You're not alone — research shows patients ask far fewer questions during medical visits than you'd expect.
This article explains why patients don't ask enough questions, how asking questions actually affects the dentist-patient relationship, and three evidence-based questions you can ask before any treatment decision. As a dentist serving the Eyüpsultan, Kemerburgaz, and Göktürk area, one of the things I notice most often in my own practice is patients hesitating to ask.
Key Takeaways
- In general medical visits, patient questions make up only about 7% of dialogue — roughly 3-9 questions per visit (Katz et al., 2007).
- Among participants who learned the "AskShareKnow" model's three questions, 87% asked at least one during their consultation, and 43% asked all three (Shepherd et al., 2015).
- Asking questions doesn't bother the dentist — the same research shows these questions increase both the information patients receive and their involvement in the decision.
- Under the ADA's informed-consent standard, a complete answer should cover five elements: the problem observed, the proposed treatment, benefits/risks, alternatives, and the benefits/risks of no treatment.
- Which question matters most for you only becomes clear once you've shared your specific situation during an exam.
Why Do We Hesitate to Ask Questions?
A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine puts a number on how few questions patients actually ask during medical encounters: patient questions make up only about 7% of dialogue, corresponding to roughly 3-9 questions per visit (Katz MG, Jacobson TA, Veledar E, Kripalani S, "Patient Literacy and Question-asking Behavior During the Medical Encounter," Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2007;22(6):782-786, retrieved 2026-08-24). This research covers general medical visits, not dentistry specifically — but the same time pressure and "not wanting to take up the dentist's time" feeling can show up in dental visits too.
The result is usually the same: patients leave and immediately think of the question they wish they'd asked. Yet the same study also found that patients who ask more questions get more useful information from their clinicians and feel a greater sense of control over their own care.
Myth-Busting: Does Asking Questions Bother the Dentist?
Some patients worry that asking too many questions will make the dentist impatient or leave the impression of being a "difficult patient." A feasibility study published in Health Expectations found the opposite: when patients were taught three simple questions and reminded with a short video beforehand, 87% asked at least one question during the consultation, 43% asked all three, and 72% went on to recommend the questions to others (Shepherd HL, Barratt A, Jones A, et al., "Can Consumers Learn to Ask Three Questions to Improve Shared Decision Making?" Health Expectations, 2015;19(5):1160-1168, retrieved 2026-08-24).
More importantly, an earlier controlled trial testing the same model found that these three questions significantly increased how much information clinicians provided and how involved patients were in the decision. In other words, asking questions doesn't bother the dentist — it makes the process clearer for both sides.
Three Questions You Can Ask at Any Visit
The three questions tested by the "AskShareKnow" model are general enough to use for any treatment decision, not just in dentistry (Shepherd et al., ibid.):
- What are my options?
- What are the possible benefits and harms of those options?
- How likely are each of those benefits and harms to happen to me?
What Should a Complete Answer Cover?
One way to judge how "complete" the answer to those three questions is: check it against the ADA's informed-consent standard. According to the ADA, a dentist-patient conversation before a treatment decision should cover five elements (ADA, "Types of Consent," retrieved 2026-08-24):
| Element | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Problem observed | The dental health issue the dentist identified during the exam |
| Nature of the proposed treatment | What the recommended procedure is and how it would be performed |
| Benefits and risks | The expected benefits and possible risks of the recommended treatment |
| Alternatives | Other options that could be considered instead of the recommended treatment |
| Benefits/risks of no treatment | What could happen if no treatment is done at all |
When and How to Ask These Questions
Don't hesitate to ask questions as they come to mind during the exam — but to guard against forgetting, it also helps to jot a few down on your phone before the appointment. Writing down the dentist's answers, too, is useful when you're weighing the decision afterward at home.
If an answer feels complex or a lot of information comes at once, it's completely normal to say "could you simplify that a bit?" — an experienced dentist treats that as a natural part of communication, not an inconvenience.
Bottom Line
Asking questions isn't a sign of distrust in your dentist — it's the most concrete way to be part of the decision. Don't hesitate to ask "what are my options, what are the benefits and risks, and how likely are they to apply to me" before any treatment decision — which option actually fits you only becomes clear once that information is on the table, after an exam.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm worried I'll forget my questions — what should I do?
Jotting down questions on your phone before the appointment and checking the list during the visit helps make sure you don't skip any.
What if I feel the dentist isn't giving my questions enough time?
You can say so directly, ask for a follow-up appointment, or seek a second opinion — none of these are unusual requests.
Do these three questions only apply to major treatments?
No — the model is a general framework for any treatment decision, large or small.
Sources
- Katz MG, Jacobson TA, Veledar E, Kripalani S. "Patient Literacy and Question-asking Behavior During the Medical Encounter." Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2007;22(6):782-786
- Shepherd HL, Barratt A, Jones A, et al. "Can Consumers Learn to Ask Three Questions to Improve Shared Decision Making?" Health Expectations, 2015;19(5):1160-1168
- American Dental Association — "Types of Consent"