Caring for Anxious Patients

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Today, we're going to be talking about something that you're going to encounter from time to time.

That is, the anxious patient.

How do we manage a patient with anxiety?

For some people, just thinking about the dental office causes them to have palpitations. It could have been because of a past experience, or have heard other people's stories, that created this unexplainable fear.

Or, it could simply be a fear of the unknown. So, we don’t just treat teeth, we treat people who have teeth. That means we are always looking at the whole picture, the whole patient.

If we are not able to help a patient manage anxiety, it can cause stress and chaos in the entire office, and allow the patient to walk out the door with a negative experience.

What can we do to ensure that the stress level in the office is significantly decreased for that patient?

Assess the patient

First of all, the initial appointment should always include a review of the patient’s medical history. This would allow us to probe to determine the patient's mindset.

Whether they are relaxed, anxious, or curious and want to know all the details, knowing that from the onset will allow you to determine how best to move forward. People may not tell you verbally that they are anxious, but you'll see it in their fidgeting or in how their speech comes out.

Consider your tone

Your tone of voice is important to make things feel less stressful for the patient.

For example, if a patient is in the waiting room, after filling out their paperwork and waiting to be seen, somebody walks halfway down the hall and says aloud, "Margaret! Who's Margaret? Margaret, your next? "

If Margaret is sitting in the waiting room and she's already anxious, do you think that something like that is going to make her feel more relaxed? Not at all.

Instead, how about walking up to the patient, introducing yourself, and letting them know that you are going to take care of them today?

If you don't allow cell phones in the clinical area, you may advise them to turn off their cell phones at that time.

Then, you wait for them to be ready, and you accompany them to the clinical area. That is so much less stressful than calling somebody's name from across the room and signaling them to come.

So the tone of voice can be extremely important. Not necessarily in a way that is mousy, but soothing. If your voice is not naturally soothing, maybe that's something that you could work on.

Give them some control

This is another way of making the experience less stressful for the patient.

By that, I mean, if a patient knows that you will allow them to stop you if they're in distress, if they're having pain, or if something is out of sorts, it brings a certain degree of relief.

So, many times I'll say to the patient, “If you need me to stop, just raise your left hand.”

It's an easy way for me and my dental assistants to recognize that something is happening, and we need to break. That small amount of control given to the patient can make a big difference in how they feel.

Remove intimidating distractions

We can be relaxed or become anxious based on what we see. Therefore, even though we know what all the instruments are for, many times our instruments can look a little intimidating to the patients.

So we should try to make sure that instruments are being passed in a way that the patient can't see them.

Instruments can be passed behind the head, below the chin, or when their eyes are looking upward, on top of the chest.

Whatever you do, try not to let them see that dental syringe, because that may just trigger their anxiety.

So keeping instruments out of the patient's sight is one of the tools that can help to keep them calm.

Information sharing

Sharing information can go both ways. There are some personalities that want to know every single detail about what you are doing so that they can prepare themselves and be ready.

There are others who don't want to know a thing. They don't want to hear any details, they just want to get it done.

So, understanding who that person is in your chair can allow you to give them what they need to be comfortable.

Keep a poker face

A dental assistant should always maintain a poker face. What do I mean by that? It is possible that things may not go according to plan in the middle of a procedure.

Complications may develop. But that patient should never be able to tell that there's a problem based on your facial expression or your tone of voice.

You need to be calm at all times and maintain your poker face regardless of what's happening.

Choice of words

The other thing I want you to keep in mind is your choice of words. Patients are often hanging on to our every word. So choose your words carefully.

Let me give you an example.

During a procedure, instead of saying I'm suctioning blood out of the area, you might want to say you’re creating a moisture-free environment. Because that one word “blood” can make somebody's blood pressure go from zero to 100 even if they are expecting to bleed.

Why? Because the mention of blood often triggers “oh my god, something is going wrong”. So, we need to use words that will relay the information to the doctor but will not alarm or frighten the patient.

Be prepared

The more organized and prepared you are, the more you build confidence in the patient that you know what you're doing. Ultimately, everybody is more relaxed when they feel that they are being cared for by someone who knows what they're doing.

So be organized. Have your setups ready so you can just focus on making sure that that patient is well supported.

Touch

The right touch can be very soothing. Now I have found that the shoulder is a very non-threatening zone. It's a safe zone to touch a patient without having them read anything between the lines. Just a gentle rub on the shoulder, not an extensive touch.

It signals, “Hey, everything will be alright.” As you go along, you're going to realize that there are some more tips that you can develop along the way. Or maybe you observe other people doing things that they instinctively do.

But you can add to your setup tools to make a patient feel less anxious because a calm patient is going to allow the procedures to take place much more easily than if the patient is anxious.

Music

Soothing music like instrumentals or soft ballads. You can also suggest that the patient return for the next visit with their favorite playlist and their earbuds.

Then, while we're working, they're self-medicating by listening to soothing music. It's a positively great distraction that gives patients a sense of relief.

Humor

It is also a great stress buster. It is a good tool for creating a less stressful environment.

Humor breaks down any kind of stress, and giving that patient a sense of control to stop if they need to goes a long way towards relieving stress.

In summary, keep in mind that we're going to assess the patient, and if the patient appears to be anxious, there are some things that we can put in place.

Our tone of voice, choice of words, being properly prepared, ensuring that our patients can’t look into our eyes and a sense that something is wrong, or hear our tone of voice and become alarmed.

And we want to make sure that we don't have intimidating instruments being passed in front of the patient's eyes. Remember that music is good too.

As Lila Akita said, “The progress of tomorrow is the preparation of today”. I want you to hold on to those words because it simply means if you anticipate and prepare when things happen, you will find that they go through so much more smoothly.

I am encouraging you to just be prepared and organized so that the patient may have a sense of calm in what you're doing.

All right, another session, and you did great. The irreplaceable dental assistant doesn't have to wear a label.

When you're irreplaceable, it's obvious to your doctor, the other members of the team, and most importantly, to the patients.

So go the extra mile to make patients comfortable and relaxed, and they will stick with you forever. That's a fact. We'll meet again sometime soon because we're better together!

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