Good Patient Communication and Rapport-Building Skills.

Communicating well with patients is vital in Dentistry and benefits both the patient and the Dental Nurse. The patient because they will feel genuinely cared for and understood and the Dental Nurse because she will feel fulfilled and satisfied with her performance.

Examples in which good communications are absolutely necessary:

• Explaining treatment and gaining consent.

• Pre and post-operative instructions.

• New patient exams.

• Discussing payment.

• Gaining consent for using patient photographs.

In order to care for our patients well and in accordance with the rules and regulations, it is important that patients are fully aware and understand the information we relay to them. It is also important that WE understand what patients say to us also and what patients tell us could be interpreted not only by word but also by body language. That is why we need to be able to communicate on many different levels. As a Dental Nurse, we need to monitor the patient and inform the Dentist if at any time we feel there are any concerns with the patient.

Non-verbal communication.

Patients can alert us subconsciously if there is something wrong by using vocal or physiological communication and also by using expressions and posture. A patient may whimper, cry or even scream while having treatment. We do not need them to tell us that they are unhappy, their vocal communication does that instead. A patient may also pull away from the drill, close their mouth or tense up their legs. Again, this indicates they are not comfortable with what is going on. Other things we must notice are physiological changes such as excess sweating or paleness. Lastly, expressions such as grimacing are also ways of non-verbal communication.

Good rapport is so important when caring for a patient .Rapport is an important feature of sub-conscious communication and is often described as being “in sync” or “on the same wavelength” with the person you are communicating with. There are different methods of building rapport, the most common being;

• Mirroring

Mirroring basically means getting into the rhythm of the person you are communicating with on as many levels as possible. There are three types of mirroring; Emotional, Posture and Tone/Tempo. Emotional mirroring basically involves empathizing with the emotional state of the person you are communicating with and letting them know subconsciously that you are “on their side”. Posture mirroring involves matching the body language of the person you are communicating with subtly by mirroring the same message with your energy and attitude. Tone/Tempo mirroring involves matching the tone, tempo and volume of another’s voice.

• Commonality

Commonality is a technique which involves purposely finding something in common with a person in order to build trust and confidence. This can be done through shared interests, hobbies, dislikes etc.

• Reciprocity

Giving someone a gift or doing them a favour triggers feelings of obligation in the person on the receiving end.

Good communication and care can be achieved by:

• Knowing your patient and having your patient know you.

Introduce yourself to your patient and make eye contact. Find out how they preferred to be addressed, e.g. Mrs Smith or more informally, Janet. Once you know their name, make an effort to remember that person so that at their next appointment you can greet them directly by name. The patient will not believe that you remember them from 6 months ago and no doubt feel secure and happy coming to a dental practice that knows them as an individual and not just “another patient”.

Ask how they are and try to find out a bit about them to make them feel more comfortable. Information is a great tool. Find out if the patient has any up and coming events such as a wedding. When they attend for their next appointment, ask them how it went. Again, they will be very surprised that you remembered that they were attending a wedding and feel flattered. Find out if they have any fears or issues and do your best to help them. Let them know a bit about you and try to relate to the patient, e.g. “I’m not keen on injections either, but it’ll be ok.” Treat each patient as an individual and give them the level of care that they require. Some patients need a little bit extra than others if they are nervous or frightened for example.

• Listening.

When the patient is speaking to you, give them your undivided attention to show them that you are genuinely listening to them. Position yourself so you are facing them and look into their eyes. By listening, you are more likely to pick up on matters that could be missed if communication is poor such as previous bad experiences with a Dentist. As a Dental Nurse, patients are more likely to speak to you about delicate matters as it is often difficult for patients to address the Dentist due to nerves or sometimes intimidation.

• Maintaining confidence and professionalism.

Always keep cool and calm and care for the patient adequately despite your surroundings. Working as a Dental Nurse can often be a fraught, “running round like a headless chicken” type experience, especially when the diary becomes double booked and there is an endless run of emergencies, however this does not mean that patient care and attention can be compromised. The patient should not see the madness behind the scenes. If you have to leave the room or are called out to the desk for example, calmly excuse yourself. It is also important that the Dental Nurse stays in control and acts in confidence.

Maintaining good communication with patients.

There are ways that a Dental Practice can maintain good communication with their patients and also please them as individuals. Some of these ways are:

• Sending routine recall/reminder letters.

Some Dental Practices advise patients to pre-book their 6 monthly appointments in advance to guarantee a preferred time and date, other practices simply advise their patients to contact to make an appointment nearer the time they are due. Depending on whether the patient has made their appointment or not, one of these letters should be sent out every 6 or 3 months depending on when they are due to come back for their routine review. More Practices are now confirming appointments in other ways such as email and text reminders, which are very popular and convenient amongst patients.

• Post-treatment courtesy calls.

Imagine this- you have had to endure an Apicectomy the day before and you are feeling a bit sore and sorry for yourself. The phone rings and it is actually the Dental Nurse who assisted through your appointment asking you how you are feeling and asking you to contact the practice if you need to and that the team are there for you if you have any questions. That is bound to make any patient feel better and the benefit to this very simple but effective task is that WE know that the patient is ok after treatment and THEY feel valued and cared for. It is ideal if the Dental Nurse can make the calls however the Receptionist can do this also.

• Birthday cards.

Sending a patient a birthday card is a lovely touch and reinforces the fact that you do care and value them as a patient.

• Thank You cards.

If a patient refers a friend to your practice or writes a nice testimonial then sending them a “thank you” card is a relatively inexpensive and nice thing to do and could very well encourage them to do more for you. Some Practices take this a step further and have referral systems in place. For example; refer 1 person to the practice and receive 10% off your next course of treatment, refer 5 people to the practice and receive £25 gift voucher and 10 off your next course of treatment etc.