Do you ever wonder why you never hear from some patients again? You may think everything seemed fine; they never mentioned they were unhappy. Dr. Richard Nagelberg says trouble comes when patients have questions they don't ask about periodontal disease and gum health. Why? Because you never have a chance to counter their anxieties and objections.
One of the most challenging questions to answer from a new patient is: How can I have gum disease? I went to my previous dentist every six months for years and they never said anything about my gums.Patients can pose any question, and we can respond. But the trouble comes when they have questions they do not verbalize, so that we are unable to counter their anxieties and objections. Here are some questions and thoughts your patients may have about periodontal disease and gum health, but not express aloud:
"My husband says his dental hygienist talks about a lot of different numbers every time he has an appointment ... something to do with his gum health. Why aren’t you doing that?"
"I have been reading about some connections between my mouth and the health of my heart. How come you never mention anything about that?"
"Why does my hygienist tell me I have gingivitis, but my dentist says everything is fine?"
"One of my coworkers mentioned some test her dental hygienist performed—something about giving a sample of saliva so they could figure out what bacteria are in her mouth. Should you be doing that?"
"My gums bleed when I floss. But that must not be important since you are not asking me about it."
"My diabetes must have nothing to do with my mouth since you never ask me about that."
"Both of my parents wear full dentures. Losing your teeth must not run in families though, because you've never said anything to me about it."
"My friend has been bugging me to visit her dentist. How come the first thing he asked me was how I brush and do I floss? You never do that."
And yet all of us, at one time or another, wonder why we never hear from some patients again. You may think: Everything seemed to be fine. The patient never mentioned that she was unhappy with the office.
Go figure. Maybe the problem with the dentist who never said anything about the patient’s gums or periodontal disease was just that.
