Dentally Incorrect

The Patient Truth

Doctors sometimes struggle with understanding the patient’s perspective. Remember: While dentistry may be your career, life and livelihood, the average patient … well, doesn’t think about you that much. (Sorry/not sorry!) Here are a few ideas to consider from the other side of the chair—if only for the sake of empathy.

Going to the dentist is a lot like when there’s a police car behind us in traffic. We probably haven’t done anything wrong, but we’re suddenly paranoid.

• Some of us don’t make dental appointments; we make nitrous oxide appointments.
• Sometimes your office calls us the day before to remind us to cancel our appointments. Thank you. This is incredibly helpful.
• It’s nice when you send us postcards, texts and emails all in the same week, but we’re waiting for you to come knock on our door. If you really cared, you’d visit.
• When you tell us to go brush in that weird little public humiliation sink station, we forget everything you’ve ever told us about brushing and lose half our motor control function.
• When we ask for the fluoride treatment “to go,” what we really mean is that we’re never going to do it, and if you want it back, just ask, because it’s going in the trash can outside your building.
• It is difficult to listen to and retain the information you’re telling us when we’re drowning in our own saliva. Please tell us again later.
• Stop playing HGTV on the televisions! It isn’t a fun guessing game if the drill we hear is real or one being used to drive a four-inch screw into hardwood. All we know is that we’re terrified. Now imagine what we must feel when we hear the nail gun.