How to Deal With Difficult Patients

Any healthcare appointment can cause stress, but a visit to the dentist’s office can be incredibly challenging. Anxiety can heighten the emotional response and produce the “difficult” patient, the “1% of patients who cause 99% of the problems.”s

When faced with unreasonable, aggressive, and demanding patients, dental professionals must draw on their experience, empathy, and professional communication skills, and for that, preparation is critical. 

Dealing with aggression and challenging behavior in the workplace is very stressful and can affect the entire team.

Sharing successful approaches with colleagues and exploring resources in advance helps prepare the dental team to work effectively with patients in these situations.s

That difficult patient 

At some point, all dentists will face a difficult patient. Despite best efforts, a patient may be angry or upset with the care they have received or something they have been told. Sometimes they even become angry for no discernible reason. 

Dental experts should know how to respond regardless of why the patient is difficult. While an appropriate response can completely defuse a situation involving a problem patient, a reply interpreted as insensitive, inappropriate, or unprofessional can result in a professional complaint or worse. 

Complex interactions can be distressing. They can catalyst complaints and grievances, but dealing with them effectively can improve patients and dental team members.

The behavior in these days 

In the current circumstances, it is understandable that tensions are a little higher than usual; we have all felt the stresses and strains brought on by the pandemic, whether due to concerns around the spread of the virus itself or personal circumstances such as finances or grief.

This means that your team may experience an increased level of aggression from patients. It should also note that staff members themselves may experience elevated stress levels. So managing difficult patients can become more complicated than usual.

That’s why dental experts need to know how to respond to these situations and what to do to minimize the risk to themselves and others. 

What to do with difficult patients

All practices should have appropriate policies and training in place. In addition, it is worth considering courses on the subject as the pandemic can quickly worsen the situation. 

Practicing dentistry poses specific challenges, and one of them is dealing with patients who are unhappy to be at the dentist. Whether their discomfort is caused by fear, pain, or financial stress, it can be a challenge to break through their resistance and get them to trust you.

Every practice has difficult patients. They’re the ones who test your patience, the ones who make your team nervous, and the ones who elicit an internal groan when you see their names on the schedule. But dealing with difficult patients is part of the job in a dental practice, and with the correct information, they don’t have to be a headache.

Tips to hopefully help you resolve the situation

1. Effective listening and communication

Listen to your patients’ concerns and speak calmly and in terms that are easy for them to understand. Above all, reassure them that you care about their concerns. Let them know that you want to address and alleviate those concerns during the current and future treatments. 

1. Explain all the procedures

Explain the procedure before you perform it. Explain what you are going to do in a calm voice. Once the procedure is completed, review what you have done and what has been accomplished. This will allow the patient to understand the entire process and deepen their comfort level in the future.

1. Pay attention to how patients react

Regularly ask if they are doing well throughout the procedure and ask them if they need a break. This will allow the patient to control what is happening; dental anxiety can often be attributed to losing control over what is happening in a susceptible area.

1. Keep calm and carry on

It is always essential to keep calm and measured. The worst thing you can do is get angry and start a shouting match or engage in a heated email exchange. This will only add fuel to the flames. Avoid raising your voice or talking over the patient. Instead, ensure that the tone of your communication is polite and respectful.

That being said, if a patient is being abusive, you and your staff should not tolerate such behavior. If there comes a time when you need to ask an abusive patient to leave, be respectful and measured while doing so, but do not be afraid to take the steps that are necessary to protect yourself and your colleagues.

1. Understand that it is not personal

There are many reasons why a patient may become problematic. Whatever the reason, it is rarely personal. Their reaction is simply poor, and you’re the one caught in the middle. 

It is entirely understandable that, after a difficult interaction, one of the first considerations is whether or not to remove the patient from the practice list. If you decide to no longer see a patient in treatment, to the extent possible, you should arrange to transfer the patient’s care or offer a referral to a colleague. 

If a patient is violent toward any member of the practice staff or is threatening to the point that there is a concern for their safety, Dental Assets recommends that the incident be reported immediately to the authorities in such a case. 

How to diffuse a difficult interaction 

Difficult interactions can be distressing. They can be a catalyst for complaints and grievances, but they can eventually lead to a better outcome for patients and dental team members if they are effectively avoided.

• A warm, friendly greeting and a smile
• Eye contact and open body language
• Active listening, with open questions and no interrupting the patient
• Exploration of the patient’s values, concerns, and preferences
• A discussion of all options and offering explanations
• The patient being involved in the decision-making. 

Dentists who know how to deal with their patients 

A patient in pain and discomfort or unable to complete treatment on their timeline can quickly become demanding and difficult to treat.

Difficult interactions do not only take place in the office. Once the situation is understood, the patient should be directed to an appropriate person, e.g., the practice manager, as soon as possible. 

Having a calm conversation with someone who demonstrates authority and understanding may be enough to calm the situation and get the patient to accept that their behavior was inappropriate. 

That’s why at Dental Assets, we make it a point to train our staff on how to deal with difficult patients and any similar situation so that they are trained experts in customer service and can provide quality care.  

If you are interested in learning a little more about these topics, do not hesitate to visit our website: https://dentalassets.com/learning-center/, where you will not only find information, equipment, materials, and staff ready to meet your needs.