I’ve been in practice for 15 years and the worst years were the first few. Why? Because when a patient starts the dental appointment by saying, “Before we begin, let me tell you that I don’t like you. It’s nothing personal. I just don’t like dentists”, AND you’re 25 and inexperienced, it triggers something in you. It took a very long time for me to fully understand why or how someone could say those things to me, but what I’ve learned about myself and others over the years, has changed how I practice dentistry.
Being a young doctor, I had no idea that dentistry was seen in a negative light by so many people. The thought that maybe I was attracting all of the angry patients came to mind. I actually wondered if there was something I was doing that was causing these particular patients to say it wasn’t “personal” when maybe it was. God knows that I burned a hole through my brain trying to figure out how to solve the problem of the “negative patient”, but there was no solution in sight. It reached a point where I began to dislike going to work. I just didn’t want to hear another patient tell me that they didn’t like me. I thought that maybe dentistry wasn’t for me. It wasn’t too long after, that I learned a valuable lesson.
One day, I came face-to-face with an ugly beast called ANXIETY and it forced me to take a good hard look at my life. It forced me to take a minute. To relax. To breathe. To address the issues. I vowed to become bigger than this thing called Anxiety, so that it would become nothing more than a minor and inconsequential thing in my life. Sadly, for most, Anxiety is not a minor or an inconsequential thing. It is HUGE and with significant CONSEQUENCE. Healing anxiety from the root is nothing less than raw and painful. Having experienced it myself, it helped me understand what my patients were truly saying when they would say “I don’t like you.”
Today, I would estimate that approximately 80% of my patients have some form of anxiety. It is unnoticeable in some, while others vary in the severity of their reaction. In my office, they may cry, get angry, react aggressively, become distrustful, shake, and much more. Most of the time, it’s completely uncontrollable and they would react differently if they could. Being able to recognize that their reaction is “not personal” is critical in being able to provide treatment to these patients. A significant number of them are on anti-anxiety medications and/or anti-depressants, but most of the time it is not enough to help them through their dental appointments. When appropriate, I will use oral or nitrous oxide sedation and grounding techniques to help alleviate the additional stress. Unfortunately, to get to the root cause of someone’s dental anxiety requires a lot of counseling and introspection.
Anxious patients need to be cared for by providing a dental experience that is different than what they had before. They don’t need to be spoken down to or be placed in a “special” room. What these patients need is a break from life, even if it comes in the form of a dental appointment. That’s right! I said it! A dental appointment can truly be the highlight of someone’s day! Go figure! I can’t fix their anxiety in one visit, nor will I attempt to, but I can make the anxiety they have about dentistry, the white lab coat, treatment, the drill, the noises, the gagging, the smells, the sights and even me, very small and inconsequential for an hour or two. Can you believe it? I am capable of giving my patients a “break” from chronic anxiety. How? By making them LAUGH! Yes! Laughter!
I came across Laughter as a treatment for anxiety when my best friend chose to make me laugh during one of my anxiety attacks, many years ago. I had no first-hand knowledge that laughter had such a quick therapeutic effect. When I experienced the power of laughter, I chose to include it in my daily practice and not a day goes by when outbursts of laughter aren't heard in my office. Most days, every appointment has smiles and laughter within it. I have patients who will have cleanings, fillings, root canals and extractions while laughing their way through the procedure. Instead of statements like “I don’t like you” from my patients, I hear things like, “OMG! That was funny!” and healthy laughter right after. Questions like, “Do you ever work?”, “Who’s laughing back there?”, “What’s going on?”, and “Have they even started?” are commonplace and I like that.
I love that I found the one thing that makes my practice special. I enjoy the fact that patients like to laugh with me and at me! I love telling one of “Doc’s stories” about the weird boyfriend I once dated, the crazy encounter, the pre-millennial life, my kids, the staff, some adventure and so on. I enjoy making my patients laugh. Not only is it good for them, but it’s also good for my Staff and me. I love what I do and I hope that someday one person will stand up and say that they enjoyed going to the dentist. I am very aware that, in the past, my profession has contributed significantly to their anxiety. It is my hope that, as a whole, new generations of dentists will be able to make up for where we have historically let these individuals down. Let’s try to make that burden a little lighter in the lives of our patients. I hope that anxiety will someday be a thing of the past. For now, all we can do is change experiences and expectations, one patient at a time. Peace. (Mic drop!)