Sign In 
3 tips to handle patients with dental phobia and anxiety
It is not uncommon to have patients come in and tell you that they HATE dentist. OUCH! Yup, as a dentist,you would probably feel awkward or uncomfortable to react to that confession as if they are telling you -I hate you. What are you going to do next? Here’s the 3 useful tips (in non-pharmacological way)I have simplified from what I’ve read from different sources just for the Dental Elementary blog readers!
1. Acknowledge the patient’s effort of coming to see you today
Give credit and praise the dental phobic patient for coming to see you today with sentences like “Thank you so much for coming today“. Or, after the patient says, “I hate dental visits”, you can reply with, “I really appreciate you made it today to come and see me, that’s a great effort“, with a big smile.
Why?
Because these type of patient often did make a huge effort to overcome their struggle to even make a phone call for dental appointment call or struggle to walk into your dental clinic. All these struggles are behind the scenes of course but that does not mean they did not happen. So, the very first step is to acknowledge patient’s effort—-the first step of building the rapport and trust from patient.
2. Show empathy and curiosity
Remember to not take the “I hate dentist”confession personally. Embrace it in a way for it is an opportunity for you to change patient’s perception towards dental visits.
Ask more, talk less. Ask patients what make them feel that way or what is the reason for unpleasant dental visit experiences?
Yup, let the patient talks more than you.Focus on the patient’s main concern of dental phobia, for example “I hate the pain caused by the drilling machines” or “I hate the smell of dental clinics” or “I don’t like the loud pitched noises made by the machines”. Address those concerns and discuss with patients on the solutions to improve the situation. Ways like trying to provide gentle and painless application of numbing solution prior to the tooth filling, or provide some pleasant aroma diffusers in treatment room, or provide a pair of headphone for patients to enjoy music etc are just some of the examples.
Sometimes, we might not be able to provide some of the discussed methods on the same day, so maybe we can do some simple cleaning on that day and make another appointment to prepare on the adjustments.
3. Take it slow!
3 tips to handle patients with dental phobia and anxiety
It is not uncommon to have patients come in and tell you that they HATE dentist. OUCH! Yup, as a dentist,you would probably feel awkward or uncomfortable to react to that confession as if they are telling you -I hate you. What are you going to do next? Here’s the 3 useful tips (in non-pharmacological way)I have simplified from what I’ve read from different sources just for the Dental Elementary blog readers!
1. Acknowledge the patient’s effort of coming to see you today
Give credit and praise the dental phobic patient for coming to see you today with sentences like “Thank you so much for coming today“. Or, after the patient says, “I hate dental visits”, you can reply with, “I really appreciate you made it today to come and see me, that’s a great effort“, with a big smile.
Why?
Because these type of patient often did make a huge effort to overcome their struggle to even make a phone call for dental appointment call or struggle to walk into your dental clinic. All these struggles are behind the scenes of course but that does not mean they did not happen. So, the very first step is to acknowledge patient’s effort—-the first step of building the rapport and trust from patient.
2. Show empathy and curiosity
Remember to not take the “I hate dentist”confession personally. Embrace it in a way for it is an opportunity for you to change patient’s perception towards dental visits.
Ask more, talk less. Ask patients what make them feel that way or what is the reason for unpleasant dental visit experiences?
Yup, let the patient talks more than you.Focus on the patient’s main concern of dental phobia, for example “I hate the pain caused by the drilling machines” or “I hate the smell of dental clinics” or “I don’t like the loud pitched noises made by the machines”. Address those concerns and discuss with patients on the solutions to improve the situation. Ways like trying to provide gentle and painless application of numbing solution prior to the tooth filling, or provide some pleasant aroma diffusers in treatment room, or provide a pair of headphone for patients to enjoy music etc are just some of the examples.
Sometimes, we might not be able to provide some of the discussed methods on the same day, so maybe we can do some simple cleaning on that day and make another appointment to prepare on the adjustments.
3. Take it slow!
One step at a time.
Treat dental phobic patient just like the new paediatric patient. As I have mentioned before, the first visit is often consultation and some simple cleaning. Imagine you are treating a new young child patient, we have to create a friendly environment, building rapport and trust. Each time when you try to do some procedure, provide brief explanation on what to expect. Start with some simple dental procedure to allow dental phobic patient to familiarise with the procedure flow.
Unfortunately, dental phobic patients usually come to us with very poor oral hygiene due to chronic oral hygiene negligence and their reluctancy to see a dentist periodically. Thus,in the first visit we can provide symptomatic relief (pain or swelling) emergency treatment, followed by motivational consultation and proper advice.
It is our responsibility to break the viscous cycle of dental phobic patient with poor oral hygiene and in need of intensive (often unpleasant) dental procedure.
So, what do you think of the 3 tips mentioned above?
Next time when you encounter a dental phobic patient, don’t panic!
I hope you will be doing great with the help of tips mentioned. However, when non-pharmacological ways are ineffective, consider to refer patient for pharmacological methods like conscious sedation and anxiolytic medications after discuss with patient’s medical GP or consult with dental specialist.
By Tan Zhi Chyi
