Are the type of dentist who loves to discuss things while doing or after completing the dental treatment or the one who does not talk at all. This may sound strange, but there are really some dental professionals who just receive the patient, perform the necessary treatment, and let the patient go out of the dental room after the treatment is done without talking anything about the procedure at all. Dentists of this type generally leave the talking task to their dental hygienist, assistant or other clinical members of the dental team.

Dental Problems

Truly, interviewing the patients, and asking them about their dental problems and the dental treatment they want to avail of is part of the task of the assistant, staff, or dental hygienist. However, this does not mean that you will just leave the entire responsibility to the other clinical members of your dental team. And here are some reasons why:

      1  Open communication builds a strong relationship with patients.
      2  Chairside conversation helps you make an uncomfortable patient feel secure and at ease and at the same time enables you to enhance your communication skills and fix social anxieties.
      3  An impactful conversation with patients encourages long-term loyalty and trust.
      4  Verbal communication can make the patients feel that you care about their welfare and not just the money they bring to your dental practice.
      5  Talking with patients is one best way to show that your team is truly committed to the patient outcome.
      6  Chairside conversations can help you unlock a smart exchange of thoughts and feelings which can give you an idea how to motivate patients, to know their dental goals, dental anxieties, and internal motivations, to suggest additional specific treatment to achieve such goal and to increase your productivity.

But I'm not an outgoing type of person and I don't have enough verbal skills needed to engage in chairside conversations...

Well, if one of your reasons why you tend not to engage in chairside conversations is because you are introvert, a bit timid, and you think you don't have the right sets of verbal skills, think again. Don't worry, you are not alone. It is quite expected since most aspiring dentists attend dental schools not to fuel their passion to talk but to learn how to provide dental care.

Dental Care

This might be the perfect time to change your perception and to enhance your communication skills. Engaging in conversation with patients can be a bit awkward at first and asking questions to start a conversation can also be pretty intimidating especially if you are not used to it and you are not that confident enough in your verbal communication skills. But if you keep practicing it, you will eventually learn the ropes and if this time comes, you will surely be able to unlock better opportunities not only to improve yourself but your practice as well.

Learn to ask the right questions

This may seem simple, but learning how to ask the right questions can pose greater impact than just throwing out anything in your mind. Engage more on open-ended and straightforward questions which can trigger smarter conversation than categorical questions that are answerable only with yes or no.

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