The Characteristics of Effective Dental Assistants: Kindness
The Characteristics of Effective Dental Assistants: Kindness
Many people who walk into the Dentist's office for a procedure are very scared or nervous behind their friendly smiles. The Dentist has been known to scare many people, not because of his attitude or personality but simply because of the job he has. If you met the Dentist off the street you might not be scared of him but because he has the job of sticking a drill in your tooth he really does make a lot of his patients nervous. If the dentist takes the time to sit his patients down and calmly speak to them before, during and after the procedure this may help the patient to relax but many times the dentist is too busy with other patients that he has to see throughout the day and he does not have time to do this; this is where the job of the dental assistant comes in.
The dental assistant does not have too many jobs to juggle while they are at work. It is important for them to prepare the trays, sterilize and wipe down the rooms and sometimes to develop the xrays of teeth and gums. These are the jobs that the dental assistant learns in school and should be familiar with by the time they reach the office. The other part of the job description is up to the dental assistant to develop, and this is people skills.
While the dental assistant is waiting with the patient in the procedure room for the dentist it does not do any good to sit there in silence and let the nervous tension brew. The patient is going to be very nervous and if you have everything set up in advance as you should then this is the opportunity that you have to really talk to the patient and be especially kind to them. They have no idea what is coming and your kindness will ease their discomfort and calm them down a great deal before the procedure. This kindness is mandatory and it really pays off to see a patient smiling before and after their procedure.