In 1979 the thesis ‘The dentist and patient education’ was published. Based on theory and research, it was the aim of the thesis to provide physicians, dentists, dental students, and dental hygienists theoretical and practical tools to be of assistance in daily patient education. During the last 25 years the insights in patient education and shared decision making were further developed. Two literature studies were published in books. Some research projects were carried out and published in articles. Nowadays, individual based patient education is an essential part of dentists’ and dental hygienists’ daily work. When compared with the period 1970-1985, at present, multimedia campaigns on oral disease prevention are extremely scarce. Communication skills of dentists appeared to be strongly related to patients’ satisfaction of oral care delivery. In the Netherlands, the ethical principle of informed consent has been legislated in 1995 and, as a consequence, activities in the field of patient education are more juridically characterized.