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How to Deal With Angry Patients
Patients that enter our offices are usually filled with emotion, even if they don't show it. They know that they are there to have treatment that might involve some discomfort. They know that it will cost money. They know that they have to do it. And, they have to let you inside one of the most protected portions of the body to do all this, which is the mouth.
So, all four of these points stir the emotions and set the body in the fight or flight mode. Sometimes we forget that the patient is scared and we think that he or she is angry. The body almost runs on automatic once it hits this state of readiness. Often, logic cannot help the frightened patient. It takes much more. Much of what we can do is basic anxiety prevention.
The staff attitude: The attitude that your staff keeps in the office is "felt" by the patients. Professional communicators tell us that we project what we feel at over 2400 images per second, much more than we could ever speak. So many times I go into offices where the staff is one way around the patients and they become different when the patients are gone. For that reason, selecting a staff that has the proper attitude of care and concern as a basic part of their personalities helps prevent patients from thinking that we are one way, then find out that we are totally different.
The doctor's relationship with the patient: Patients trust dentists to be confident, competent and professional. When they believe we embody those qualities, the fear releases and trust becomes the norm.
All dentists are trying to work efficiently and be productive. But sometimes we have to remind ourselves and our staffs to slow down and remember that there is an emotion being wrapped around every tooth.
If we can just master the two points listed above with ourselves and our staffs, we may just experience less anxiety from our patients. And, who knows, quite possibly the anesthetic will work better and we won't ever need that ampule of ammonia taped inside the cabinet. After all those patients may not be angry ... just scared!
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