Let me entertain you?


Most of my dental appointments run from one to two hours. For an apprehensive patient, this can seem like an eternity.  I tend to talk to my patients during treatment partly because I find that it distracts them and partly because I am talkative. Most of my patients appreciate the distraction and even enjoy some of my stories and conversation.  Usually I tell a personal anecdotes, or  explain what step of the procedure we are at and what will come next. Sometimes I chat about a world event that has been in the news. Patients commonly ask me how my son is doing and about his progress in life ( he just graduated from college and is in the process of applying to dental school!)

Sometimes , my patients politely let me know that they have to be back at work at "such and such time" and I take that as a cue to talk less and work more. When this happens I apologize and I make sure to get them out of my chair on time. Rarely, I  miss all their initial cues and a patient can become quite annoyed.  Of course I didn't intend to make them uncomfortable, but you know the saying about good intentions (sometimes they are the road to hell).

Speaking about unintended consequences, sometimes my banter is captivating enough that my assistant forgets to get us ready for the next step of the procedure and instead I catch her actually listening to what I am talking about with the patient.When this happens, I am both flattered and annoyed... what a weird feeling especially since most of the time my trusty assistant Larysa does her job well and just tunes my chatter out!






from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://ift.tt/2r2LHgu - http://ift.tt/1SpPbm6

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an...
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH ...
Read more