As a dentist who has an established family practice most days I have a good day taking care of my patients. Unfortunately, I also have a few patients that make my day stressful and unenjoyable. On this particular day I am running a little behind due to a long root canal procedure where the patient showed up late.
Mrs. Smith is a new patient to the office and is in some pain from a tooth that she broke 5 months ago. The front office politely explains to her that “the doctor” will be with her shortly and asks her if she would like a bottle of water while she waits in the lounge. She gruffly says, “I guess I’ll have to won’t I?!” and storms off to her seat making some inappropriate comments as she goes. Fifteen minutes later Mrs. Smith
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Smith I’m Dr. Turney. I apologize for running a little behind I was with another patient but we can get started right away.”
Mrs. Smith: “I guess you think your time is more important than mine, but it’s not. Don’t you know that I have lunch plans and I need this tooth fixed today?”
Already I am at a disadvantage. I can try to apologize again but it probably won’t make any difference. Or I could get defensive and fire back. Neither of which is a good option. All I can do at this point is grin and bear it. So I go on trying my best to win her over, but the whole appointment is tense and uncomfortable.
We all have had that patient whose name we dislike seeing on the schedule. Or perhaps it may be a patient that we have just met for the first time. You all know exactly what I’m talking about it’s not that the patient has a hard procedure but instead I’m talking about the patient that no matter how hard you try they are never going to be
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If you can get to the root of their fear you have a fighting chance. Fear is a powerful force and it changes even the mildest mannered grandmother into a Crackin. The anger and hostility is a defense mechanism, it’s their way of taking control of the situation.
Be open with your patients, listen to their fears and set your expectations of behavior with them. Let them know that what they may have experienced in the past is just that, the past. You are not the last dentist they saw. You have an opportunity to change their perception for the better.
Set the expectation of your office by letting them know that you will do everything you can to make their time in your office comfortable. But they also have an obligation to treat you and your staff with respect. Setting your expectations up front can save you a lot of stress and more importantly time in the end.
Not every patient is going to accept these “rules” and that’s ok. You reserve the right to refer them to another dentist that may fit their personality better. Just because they came into your office doesn’t mean you have to accept them as a patient, if they aren’t willing to respect you and your
Along with dental procedures, I observed various work dynamics while shadowing. I realized that social responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and communication are all important factors in a dental office. I am thankful for my past experiences that helped me to develop all of these skills. While shadowing I saw that it is crucial for a dentist to communicate not only with his staff but also with his
As a Registered Dental Hygienist worked in the dental field for more than 6 years, I am passionate with Dentistry. With an outstanding patients’ relationship achievements and understanding of patients first priority, I have established the confident with my people skills. My patients always feel very happy after seeing me, because I treat them like my family members and their comfort and satisfaction means a lot to me. Many patients have requested to see me again right after their first appointment. I also have an excellent organization and time management skills. Self-confident is my key to success and I am qualified to
ith a weary face and sweaty palms, I walked into the gloomy dental offices as a yearly ritual. The intimidating environment of the office made me feel knots in my stomach. As a child I never enjoyed visiting dentists because I was convinced that these humans were merciless people who could not care less if I was in pain. Ironically, the lifetime career I seek for now is the career I disliked before. The decision to become a dentist developed when I had the desire to give children a better experience and a different perspective on professionals of this field. From my experience, the dentists were not gentle and did not give me time to collect myself before pulling a tooth out. Orthodontics is a profession that I am pursuing since I have consistently desired to work in a healthcare career that enables me to help people by using my interest and talents in hand motor and communication skills. I strive for perfection and work patiently, as well as diligently, which will help me throughout this profession. There are skills that I need to obtain such as shadowing or volunteering in a dental office, which is also part of the educational preparation needed for dental school. All of these talents combined are essential for a typical day in dentistry in which I need to create a safe and comfortable environment for the excessive amounts of patients daily
It's important to take care of any problems that occur in your body, especially pertaining to dental health. If you have a root canal, and you let it go without treatment, inflammation will occur. The bone, the gums, and tissue will be affected if the root canal is left untreated, especially for a long period. It's bound to lead to death, although, death isn't that common. You can take antibiotics, but it's not as effective as it could be if you follow through with the root canal procedure. The longer you go without getting it done, the worse that it gets. If you get the procedure, the pain will cease.
If you have ever worked in the healthcare system you will know there are a few patients you will never forget. Some are for good reasons and some are for not so good reasons. There are some patients that are never satisfied no matter how nice you are or how much time you give them. Needy or demanding patients typically are characterized into different subgroups and once insight is gained nurses and medical staff can respond more effectively to their needs.
Naraghi, the general dentist that I shadowed for almost a year, had always told me to follow a career path that makes you excited to get up in the morning and I would always think about dentistry at that moment. In his office, I set up the room for patients, took their blood pressure and helped them feel more comfortable. I also spent a significant amount of time with Dr. Naraghi learning about dental tools and their uses. He became my mentor and familiarized me with different responsibilities of a dentist. He shone light on how special is the bound between a patient and his dentist as you could always hear him singing when working on his patients and they seemed to love his attitude and sometimes even request songs from
If you are planning on getting a root canal done, make sure that you also make plans to get a crown following your root canal. A crown will be used to replace the section of your tooth that was removed when the dentist drilled into your tooth to perform your root canal. You'll need a crown in order to protect the work that was done on your tooth. Here are three things you need to know about the process of getting a crown following a root canal
How good it would be for you as dentist, for your dental practice as a business, and for the dental health and well-being of your patients, if you could offer more than just verbal reassurance about the state of your patients dental health?
“Carson, Carson, Carson here put this on your thumb, and put pressure on it,” Mr. Eychaner was giving me a paper towel, “Emma can you take Carson to the nurse?”
The doctor requests Taylor to go see the patient in room 1. The doctor Taylor would be working with today was from Boston. He fits the stereotypical attributes of someone not just from Boston, but from up North period. The attitude, the snap in every word spoken, and the lack of what appeared to be happiness on his face. The very first patient she encounters is a 47 year old female that was complaining of pain in her uterine area. Before Taylor could even get a sentence out, the patient informed her that the doctor had already seen her and that she was going home. However, she didn 't mind Taylor running an assessment seeing as how it would provide great practice to the new student. Taylor begins her assessment and starts with the basics.
Fear of the dentist is more common today than most people would imagine. You’re probably very familiar with individuals fearing the dentist, especially if you work or have worked in the dental field. So, what is dental fear? Is it an idea that our parents put in our heads because it was passed down to them from their parents? Is it an emotion that is formed based on images shaped in the mind about going to the dentist? Dental anxiety is abnormal fear or dread of visiting the dentist for preventative care or therapy and unwarranted anxiety over dental procedure. (U.S National Library of Medicine, N.D.) Patients who experience dental anxiety will have a sense of nervousness and unfounded worries or fears. “Some studies have concluded that 75% of people have at least some fear about dental visits.” (Penn Dental, May. 15, 2017.) Dental phobia is a more serious condition. It's an intense fear or dread. “People with dental phobia aren't merely anxious, they are terrified or panic stricken.” (Colgate, September 18, 2013.) Many people with dental phobia typically avoid the dentist unless they have pain and only find it necessary to seek treatment. Negative experiences in childhood are the most common causes of dental fear. So, what can we do to rationalize with our patients? Educate!
Talking about the name Endodontia ‘root canal treatment’ and a lot of people shudder when the just hear about it! Well, in Dr. Aburas clinics you can just sit back and relax… in fact, it’s the solution, not the problem and we will always solve all the issues correlated with a painful toothache or facial swelling.
When you visit our office, you can look forward to relaxing in our warm and inviting environment. We understand that our patients need to feel confident on our ability to provide state-of-the-art dental care, which is why we’ll work hard to make your visit pleasant and comfortable. From the moment you contact us, you can expect the following:
On Thursday, September 28th my morning and afternoon patients cancelled the night before. After making a few phone calls I was able to schedule my patient NN for the afternoon. It worked well because her next appointment was scheduled for November 10th since that was my next Thursday appointment on my schedule. During the morning since I did not have a patient, I decided to sharpen my instruments because my afternoon patient had a lot of supra and subgingival calculus and I wanted to be ready to effectively remove them all. I washed a video to refresh the basic concepts on sharping and I was able to do a sharpen competency. Dental hygienists depend on a very sensitive tactile touch while working subgingivally, for this reason the
Seated amongst the others, a resident with long grey hair repositions her black framed glasses and clears her crackly throat from the phlegm, ”Did you hear Tim is in the hospital again?” The group of old ladies all shake their heads and scoff in disgust. “I heard it was because of a heart attack. That man never learns, that’s the second time this year.” She picks up her coffee cup and takes a small sip, “He just continues to go downhill and I don’t dare say it, but he’s going to end up causing his own death if he doesn’t change something.” Though she does not