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goldfish · 21-09-2008, 12:27 PM

I remember when one dentist asked if their client was "feeling all right" during treatment. He had asked out of courtesy, but the client made a face and shook his head (as much as could with a drill in his mouth, anyway).

If the dentist continues treatment after the patient says that they are not happy, you can be sure of one thing: the patient will not return. You will not build up goodwill. They may return to finish treatment but they will not return for a recall and they will tell everybody that you are a butcher. Some people you don’t want to return but it is better they go on your terms.

If the patient is unhappy there are two possibilities:

One: that they are actually feeling physical pain. This can happen. You start drilling and the tooth is not numb. In this case you stop, apologise and make the tooth numb. If you do this effectively you will gain a patient for life. They know that if something goes wrong you will fix it. They will trust you.

The second possibility is that discomfort is not easily fixed. The patient doesn’t like impressions down the back of the moth, the scaler is sensitive, the suction irritates them, the noise of the drill irritates them, they don’t like lying prostrate, and they feel out of control.

A few random thoughts about what you can try:

You could start by asking them what they are worried about.

Take control. Say there is nothing to worry about. Tell them ‘I am going to do …. You are not going to feel a thing’. Keep on and on repeatedly telling them, “You are going very well.”

Side with the patient. Agree that it is a terrible experience. Tell them we are in this together ‘together we can work this out.’ ‘I know it’s difficult but it has to be done so lets get it over with nice and quickly.’ Some people will regularly come every six months and spend the whole visit complaining. That’s their paradigm.

Distraction is another way to go. Talk to the patient. Make them think of something else. Best of all ask them a question? Ask them something about themselves.

Confident manner and movements are mandatory in controlling patient anxiety. You can either pretend to be confident and positive or actually be 100% assured. It is alright to say that you should always go with the former option but occasionally you get stumped or surprised. It happens. In which case you have to fake it. The last thing you want when you don’t know how to get the root out is a patient who knows you don’t know.

21-09-2008, 12:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
goldfish Dental Professional Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 11	I remember when one dentist asked if their client was "feeling all right" during treatment. He had asked out of courtesy, but the client made a face and shook his head (as much as could with a drill in his mouth, anyway). If the dentist continues treatment after the patient says that they are not happy, you can be sure of one thing: the patient will not return. You will not build up goodwill. They may return to finish treatment but they will not return for a recall and they will tell everybody that you are a butcher. Some people you don’t want to return but it is better they go on your terms. If the patient is unhappy there are two possibilities: One: that they are actually feeling physical pain. This can happen. You start drilling and the tooth is not numb. In this case you stop, apologise and make the tooth numb. If you do this effectively you will gain a patient for life. They know that if something goes wrong you will fix it. They will trust you. The second possibility is that discomfort is not easily fixed. The patient doesn’t like impressions down the back of the moth, the scaler is sensitive, the suction irritates them, the noise of the drill irritates them, they don’t like lying prostrate, and they feel out of control. A few random thoughts about what you can try: You could start by asking them what they are worried about. Take control. Say there is nothing to worry about. Tell them ‘I am going to do …. You are not going to feel a thing’. Keep on and on repeatedly telling them, “You are going very well.” Side with the patient. Agree that it is a terrible experience. Tell them we are in this together ‘together we can work this out.’ ‘I know it’s difficult but it has to be done so lets get it over with nice and quickly.’ Some people will regularly come every six months and spend the whole visit complaining. That’s their paradigm. Distraction is another way to go. Talk to the patient. Make them think of something else. Best of all ask them a question? Ask them something about themselves. Confident manner and movements are mandatory in controlling patient anxiety. You can either pretend to be confident and positive or actually be 100% assured. It is alright to say that you should always go with the former option but occasionally you get stumped or surprised. It happens. In which case you have to fake it. The last thing you want when you don’t know how to get the root out is a patient who knows you don’t know.