Sample Letter (Dentistry) Based on Official OET Case Notes & Tips

The patient, who is residing in a retirement village, visits the dental clinic regularly.

In the letter, the dentist is expected to request the nurse-in-charge of the retirement village to provide closer supervision of the patient’s oral care.

Please remember, the reader, who is the he nurse-in-charge of the retirement village, knows the patient already; therefore, select case notes accordingly.

– Date

– Full name of the recipient with title (if given in the case notes)
– Designation/job title
– Address (if given in the case notes)

– Greeting

– Reference line

– Introduction/Opening Paragraph

– Body Paragraphs

– Concluding Paragraph

– Closing Sentence

– Closing Salutation

– Job Profile

Date (Given in the case notes as ‘Assume that today’s date is …)

Full name of the recipient with title
Designation/job title
Address

Greeting (Dear ……. ) (Second name of the recipient with appropriate title)

Reference line (Re: the patient’s full name & DOB)

Tip 1: ‘20 January 2022’ is the preferred date format at the start.

Tip 2: dd/mm/yyyy is the preferred date format in the reference line and paragraphs. (Avoid switching date formats in the reference line and paragraphs.)

Tip 3:  Interchanging the order of Date & Recipient’s Details is acceptable.

Tip 4:  Interchanging the order of Greeting & Reference Line is acceptable.

Tip 5:  If date of birth (DOB) is given, write that in the reference line. If age is also given, mention that in introduction.

Tip 6: Watch the spelling. If you are using British/American spelling, be consistent in the letter. Avoid mixing the styles.

30 August 2021

Ms Veronica Dennis
The Nurse-In-Charge
Stillwater Retirement Village
222 Main Road
Stillwater

Dear Ms Dennis
RE: Mrs Helen Georgas, DOB: 23/03/1931

It covers the full name of the patient, introduces the medical complaint and generally discusses the reason(s) for writing the letter.

Tip 7:  Keep in mind that excluding the purpose would affect your score negatively.

Tip 8:  Read the ‘Note’ & ‘Writing Task’ given at the start and end of the case notes respectively to identify the purpose.

Tip 9:  Keep the introduction succinct to make the purpose immediately apparent to the reader.

Tip 10:  Avoid secondary information/details that may obscure the objective of introduction.

Tip 11: Write full name with title at the first occurrence in the introduction as the patient is an adult.

Tip 12: In the introduction, the purpose should be general information related to expected care/action. A specific & detailed plan should be included in conclusion.

Tip 13: Avoid using the verb ‘refer’ as the letter is written to the nurse-in charge, who knows her already. (Refer = To introduce a patient to another healthcare professional for the first time.)

Introduce the patient.

Refer to ‘PATIENT DETAILS’ for the patient’s full name.

Medical Reason: Refer to Last dental visit & information dated 30 Aug 2019

Dental Stomatitis

Reason for writing the letter: Refer to Writing Task.

… closer supervision of her oral care

The introduction of your OET letter is now

I am writing regarding Mrs Helen Georgas, an 88-year-old resident in your retirement village, who has denture-induced stomatitis, for close monitoring of her oral care.

Refer to the subtitle ‘last dental visit’.

Tip 14: Avoid using gender pronouns at the first occurrence in a paragraph.

Tip 15: Avoid using ‘the/this/my/a patient’; it is less polite.

Let’s compose the body paragraph 1 as follows.

On a routine dental examination dated 14/02/2019, Mrs Georgas, who wears a full upper denture and a partial acrylic lower denture, was assessed to have upper denture stomatitis. Therefore, she was advised to remove the denture at night.

Tip 16: Using brackets and short forms is informal. Rephrase without them.

Let’s compile relevant information and compose the body paragraph 2 as follows.

Today, Mrs Georgas complained of discomfort wearing the upper denture and an itchy palate. Examination revealed that her erythematous palate was still present. She mentioned not removing her dentures at night due to a lack of assistance from the retirement village staff in doing that.

Refer to ‘Plan’.This paragraph can be written as below.

Given the above, it would be appreciated if Mrs Georgas is provided with the required staff support to ensure she removes her dentures at night, clean them and keep them in a clean, dry container. If there is no improvement on review after one week, she will be commenced on antifungal treatment, consisting of amphotericin B and antifungal lozenges four times a day.

Tip 18:  A typical polite closing sentence can be written as the addressee can get back to the writer if he needs more information about the patient.

Tip 19: It should be polite and should not include informal words and phrases.

The following are a few examples.

For any further information, please contact me.

In case of any queries, kindly contact me.

Please contact me if you have any queries.

Yours sincerely (If the name of the recipient is given.)

Yours faithfully (If the name of the recipient is NOT given.)

Tip 21: Write the name of the profession/designation indicated in the case notes. You may give the name of the hospital or organization if given (optional).

Tip 22: You are not required to give your name here.

Tip 23: Leave a single blank space between all sections.

(In this case, the name of the reader is given.)

Yours sincerely,
Dentist

Yours sincerely (If the name of the recipient is given.)

Yours faithfully (If the name of the recipient is NOT given.)

Tip 25: Write the name of the profession/designation indicated in the case notes. You may give the name of the hospital or organization if given (optional).

Tip 26: You are not required to give your name here.

Tip 27: Leave a single blank space between all sections.

Ms Veronica Dennis
The Nurse-In-Charge
Stillwater Retirement Village
222 Main Road
Stillwater

Dear Ms Dennis

RE: Mrs Helen Georgas, DOB: 23/03/1931

I am writing regarding Mrs Helen Georgas, an 88-year-old resident in your retirement village, who has denture-induced stomatitis, for close monitoring of her oral care.

On a routine dental examination dated 14/02/2019, Mrs Georgas, who wears a full upper denture and a partial acrylic lower denture, was assessed to have upper denture stomatitis.

Therefore, she was advised to remove the denture at night.Today, Mrs Georgas complained of discomfort wearing the upper denture and an itchy palate. Examination revealed that her erythematous palate was still present. She mentioned not removing her dentures at night due to a lack of assistance from the retirement village staff in doing that.

Given the above, it would be appreciated if Mrs Georgas is provided with the required staff support to ensure she removes her dentures at night, clean them and keep them in a clean, dry container. If there is no improvement on review after one week, she will be commenced on antifungal treatment, consisting of amphotericin B and antifungal lozenges four times a day.

For any further information, please contact me.

Yours sincerely,
Dentist