Working with Nervous Patients

Once you become a Dental Assistant, you’ll meet a range of patients with differing personalities and needs. Some patients unfortunately experience ‘dental anxiety’ or ‘dental phobia’. Treating them with special care is key to making them feel welcome and comfortable. 

Read on to learn more about dental anxiety and what you can do to ensure your patients feel as calm as possible.  

Dental Anxiety vs. Dental Phobia 

Dental anxiety is a common anxiety experienced by people of all ages, but it’s especially prevalent in children. People who experience dental anxiety might feel fear or stress at the prospect of a visit to the dentist, but it doesn’t necessarily prevent them from going when they really need to. It just means that they could be anxious or distressed and may need a little extra attention and care throughout their appointment.

Dental phobia, on the other hand, is when a person’s dental anxiety is severe enough that they avoid going to the dentist at all. These are patients who require dental staff with a very caring attitude and maybe even a dentist specialising in nervous patients. Dental phobias can be complex to handle, and dentists may need to work alongside other healthcare professionals, such as GPs and counsellors, to help patients work through these fears.  

Signs of dental anxiety in patients 

If you don’t know a patient or aren’t aware of their anxiety, it can be difficult to tell whether they might need the extra thoughtful approach. When you’re greeting patients for their appointments, some signs to look out for include: 

• Sweating 

• Jittery movements (i.e. shaking hands or voice) 

• Restless movement or fidgeting 

• Speaking faster than usual 

• Overreacting or “jumping” at sudden sounds or sights 

• Tears in eyes or crying. 

Why do people fear the dentist?  

People can have fears of the dentist for any number of reasons. After all, it’s not that hard to understand why having a stranger in a lab coat look around in your mouth might be a bit uncomfortable. A few of the main reasons include: 

• Children might be uncomfortable around strangers or might not have a lot of experience with going to the dentist 

• A negative past experience at the dentist 

• Mental health conditions such as generalised anxiety disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Whatever the reason may be, your job is to support your patients to receive the care they need with as little distress as possible. 

How to help nervous dental patients 

There are a few things you can do to help your nervous dental patients feel at ease throughout their appointment. Here are a few techniques and skills you can develop in order to help your patients feel safe and cared for.

Don’t keep nervous patients waiting 

For a nervous patient, even turning up to the appointment is a breakthrough. They’ve pushed through some serious mental barriers to get there, so the least you can do is be there for them on time. The quicker the process is started, the less time they have to overthink the appointment and let that anxiety snowball. Keeping the amount of time they need to spend in the clinic to a minimum (without compromising care) is in everyone’s best interest. 

Make their appointments wisely 

You can’t control whether the dentist is running a bit late to an appointment – maybe a wisdom tooth extraction has some complications and goes overtime. And you don’t want to leave your anxious patients hanging around the waiting room too long. This can make your job of keeping them calm a bit difficult, but there’s one thing you can do to prevent this from happening in the first place. 

As a Dental Assistant, one of your tasks is running the appointment schedule. One way to ensure your nervous patient doesn’t have to wait for a late dentist is to book them in at a time when they’re most likely to be in and out in a flash. This means booking them in for first thing in the morning or after another patient who’s just undergoing something standard like a teeth clean and check-up.  

Ensure the waiting room is comfortable 

What’s the atmosphere like in the waiting room? Put your interior designer cap on and see what could be done to improve the ambience of the space. Maybe some art, plants, warm lighting and comfortable chairs would be helpful additions you could suggest to management. Even some useful distractions like soothing music or magazines can go a long way to easing heightened nerves. 

Chat with your patient  

It can be nice to know that someone is on your side when you’re feeling anxious. Talking with your patient can help them feel like they can place their trust in your hands. You may talk about their fears or concerns, explain the treatment and how long it will take, and reassure them of the safety and care you’ll take to ensure they experience little to no pain. If there will be pain, try to explain what it’s like without making it into a big deal. Otherwise, even just small talk about hobbies, holidays and local events can help distract them from their racing thoughts. 

Stay with them at every step 

Rather than calling a patient from the surgery room and watching them walk down the hall alone, try walking with the patient from the waiting room to the dentist's chair. If nothing else, it enables you to keep chatting with them to keep them distracted and at ease. Introduce them to the dentist and keep things cheery.  

Keep them informed 

Explain what is happening at every step so their mind doesn’t have any room to wander or come up with ‘worst case scenarios’. Spare them any graphic details, just keep your language simple and calm. Making sure a patient is informed about what is happening will establish a good sense of trust and keep them grounded in reality. Telling them when it’s almost over will also give them something to look forward to. 

Give them some control 

Before a treatment or checkup begins, you can also give your patients some control over the appointment. For example, allowing them to choose when they’re ready to start can provide that extra level of calm and safety for them. Offering hand signals for them to use when they need a break is also a great way for patients to manage anxiety levels. 

Having the skills to support a nervous dental patient through their appointment is vital as a Dental Assistant. It ensures that all patients get proper dental care, and will give them a safe place to keep coming back to whenever the need arises – which is also great for building a loyal patient base.  

Interested in learning about our Dental Assisting courses? Enquire now or speak with one of our friendly Careers Advisors on 1300 616 197 to unlock your potential with Foundation Education.