Dentist-With-Patient1You are doing an examination on a patient and you identify a significant concern. You describe to them what you see, explain the urgency of treating it and outline the options.The patient responds by saying, "Well, I have been doing my best to maintain my oral health over the years, but I always anticipated that something like this could occur. Luckily, I have put aside funds towards my long-term dental care, so just go ahead and do what you think is best."

Doesn't happen, does it?

What's far more likely is that it is going to come as an unwelcome surprise to them; that the condition of their mouth has reached a point where it will require more than the usual attention, bringing with it an expense they hadn't been counting on.

This situation is partly a result of the way the rules of dental care are usually instilled in patients. Dentists and their teams talk to patients about the importance of preventative care and patients begin to believe that if they follow those rules everything will be fine. Until one day an issue develops and they feel blindsided. "But doc, I brush and floss regularly! I keep all my hygiene appointments! I follow the rules!"

The answer is to prepare patients early in the relationship for the realities of lifelong oral health. You need to move them away from the preventative mindset that tends to dominate patient thinking. You have to get them to see that good hygiene habits aren't really preventative as much as they are defensive strategies.

Most of all, you have to educate them on the realities that just about everyone develops oral health care needs over the course of their lifetime, that it can occur without the patient noticing or feeling it, and that timely treatment is a worthwhile, smart investment.

True, you probably still won't be seeing that ideal patient who is ready and eager to go when you discover an issue, but you can go a long way to getting most patients to see their dental needs in a more realistic comprehensive, and value-centered way.

CourseLibraryWant to learn even more about teaching patients that prevention is not enough? Check out Imtiaz Manji's staff training course on this topic. Not yet a member of Digital Suite? Click here to learn more.

Post a Comment

Comments

Commenter's Profile Image Barry Polansky
July 23rd, 2014
Good topic Imtiaz---as a personal philosophy and one that I speak to with my patients is that "Rust never sleeps." I explain "entropy" to patients---after 40 years years opf practicing in a Petri dish--I can tell you thios concept goes way beyond teeth.
Commenter's Profile Image Costin Marinescu
July 23rd, 2014
Excellent topic rooted in everyday practice. I would say that patients' preventative mentality is a good one. It denotes interest for maintaining health and effort in the direction of prevention. The problem is not the attitude but the reactive nature to health issues. In other words, following the rules is not enough but understanding that the rules can change without notice is the way to approach health maintenance. ... As human body is continuously changing and in fact ageing - rules cannot be rigid... Instead of taking a patient out of the zone of comfort (reactive, compliant) into the "uncertainty of life" (things can happen and better be prepared for them), I would rather enable the patient to employ Pro-Active care: a state of mind where the rules still apply but they are ever-changing within a certain range. The state of "partnership" between the doctor and patient is much more beneficial and value-building and its foundation lie within the desire of knowing more and paying attention to health changes with a positive attitude ("is there something I or my doctors can do about this" rather than "I knew this would be coming....."). Our job is to enable our patients in knowing more and so in return they give us, the doctors, the opportunity to early diagnose and be minimally invasive. Uncertainties of life will still exist and the patient would be much better prepared for them knowing they have health care provider on their side who is dedicated to pro-active prevention.