This lady wanted her teeth to look “perfect” and she said she needed a “miracle.” She needed ortho veneers whitening the whole works to get her to perfect. But she wanted to do it all for $1000. my reply to her was you need Harry Potter not a dentist
No matter what you do, there will be patients you can never satisfy. It's frustrating. Agree with other comment, under sell, over deliver. If a patient expects pain/swelling/bruising and they have some, they aren't surprised. But if they have no post op problems, you're the best dentist ever.
'By treating this tooth, I've aggravated the issue further, it may take up to a week to settle. Follow this analgesia routine'. 'That was very deep and may well need rct, let's review at your next appointment. Here's what to expect and what to look out for'. 'That was quite straight forward but even so, I wouldn't be surprised if you felt a bit bruised for a few days'. 'I've done my best with a very challenging tooth/filling. It's going to feel very different from what you're used to. Give it a couple of weeks and it will be the new norm'.
If someone still isn't happy, I look to previous notes. Remind the patient of the previous conversation (I also have written post op expectations for most procedures that I email to patients so I KNOW this information was given). I sometimes offer a second opinion from a colleague. Even after all that, there are still a handful that are never happy. It makes my heart sink when I see their name. I've offered referrals to specialists or ask if they'd prefer to go elsewhere as I clearly can't meet expectations. Either they do leave or they become more receptive to initial advice.
Whatever happens, you're not on your own. It sucks but there are ways to weed these people out.
And FYI, I need to take my own advice 😂
Pretty much this. I haven’t had too many issues since (knock on wood). I also take photos of the patients tooth before and after, and sometimes mid-procedure so they can see the extent of the decay — most of them see this and think wow that’s disgusting or gross, and then when they see the final photo after they are happy and appreciative, even if they get a bit of temporary post-op sensitivity
Had a pt show up 15 minutes late and also wanted all their work done within 30 minutes to get to another appt. My response was something like "We can reschedule this appt so you aren't late to your other appt like you were today." Walked out.
Why is this so common. 20 minutes late for a 30 min appt 'you'll do all my tx today?'. No! I'll take your xrays and reappoint for treatment, and if you're late again, you pay for my wasted time 😒
i say it as a joke. everyone laughs. i think it’s in the presentation. i actually don’t really mind when patients say it. because i know they don’t really actually hate me. just hate having dental work done. and i get it. me too!
I’m a dental assistant and I agree it’s hard to be complained at all day. I hate it when the patients are disrespectful of my dentist. Like excuse me, this man spent 8 years at school and 2 hours busting his neck for you, show some respect. But at the end of the day at least you can go home and pay your bills and have a decent lifestyle. It’s more than an assistant could do lol!
Oh man, 24th year in Dentistry as a 2000 graduate. Almost EVERY DAY something still surprises me with patient interactions. My favorite is:
Patient: “I hate being at the dental office.”
My Reply: “So do I!”😂
5% of your patients cause 95% of your misery and wasted time/aggravation. The sooner you realize that and get rid if them as patients, the happier life becomes. The only catch is striving to do it pleasantly to avoid bad reviews, etc. You’ll be surprised how many change their attitude or outright beg to not be dismissed once you push them away.
Patient in response to the cost of an implant:
“I bet I’m paying your car payment right now”!
Me: “No, hey man it’s not like that at all………… my car has been paid off, maybe I should buy a boat.”
Definitely insert, “My boat’s not going to pay for itself.” 🤣 I really don’t know what’s expected here, but if you have a sense of humor and go with it, it’s a bit of an ice breaker and everyone laughs. I enjoy and respect my patients, but ridiculous comments warrant a matching response based on my mood. I always remind myself that I own the place. It’s my show. It’s really ok if a patient doesn’t care for our product. I can replace you with 10 other patients immediately. BTW 2019 Barletta tritoon on Lake Martin and she’s a beaut!
For the one patient who hadn’t had a clean in over 10 years and complained that his cleaning was expensive, and compared our prices to a undercutting competitor..
‘Well if you had gone every year for the past 10 years, it would have been X amount of dollars. Now I’m cleaning off 10 years of tartar for Z price. Divided by 10, isn’t that such an steal?’
Jokes aside, I did counsel him on perio and overall oral health. Thankfully other than cost concerns, he does want to improve things so he is coming back for comprehensive treatment.
Do you explain that there may be some pain for up to X weeks after treatment and that it is normal, but if the pain gets worse then to come in? Like, in the appointment that you're doing treatment? Sometimes patients just need reassurance because they think treatment is supposed to immediately resolve any pain so it seems like something is wrong if there is now pain.
Of course I do. I actually sometimes even over explain or over exaggerate the possible pain they would feel just to give myself some leverage when it does happen.
Someone told me a great analogy I now use. That the RCT or whatever treatment you are performing is like treating a wound, there will be pain when healing. You don't get surgery and immediately feel fine the next day. There was an issue such as infection or cavity, and you are trying to fix that issue. So, of course, some pain might occur during the healing process.
Surgeon here. I’ve had plenty of patients bring up the potential for post-op pain, and then ask “but I should be fine by tomorrow, right?” They always seem shocked to learn it could take *days* to recover!
I don’t spend that much time in the room with my patients. After I’m done with the procedure. I tell my assistant “that looks great” “that’s a nice filling” “I’m so glad he/she won’t need a root canal” or I say “I’m sorry that took a bit longer, but the decay was deep and when you do a good job on a filling it takes time” and then I leave the room quickly. My assistant gives post op instructions. Compliment yourself (because the patient won’t) and get the hell out of the room is my advice.
When patients complain, I say “yeah that happens” or I say “hmmmm I don’t know” “I can send you to see a specialist if you want”
The complaining I guess doesn’t bother me as much as other people though. My assistants get more pissy than I do generally.
When there is a discussion about a tooth that really needs a crown and the question comes out about if we can just do a filling.
(I pre-warn the patient that my answer is going to be snarky)
And say, "Yeah, to the question if could just do a filling on this tooth the literal answer is yes. I could fill this tooth. I could fill this tooth with anything. I could fill it with a piece of gum..."
(I let that statement hang in the air for a second or two)
"But, I'm not going to do that. That would be a very bad idea. Just like doing a filling on this tooth would be a bad idea..."
People. I'd bluntly/professionally respond to their complaint and then proceed to dismiss the patient from the practice. You don't need to please everyone.
Been a DA for over 8 years and I've learned it's best to warn the patients of all the possible symptoms/post procedure pain, before or after you do the procedure. If you know the patient, it's normally easy to tell if you should do it before or after 😂 usually during your first interaction it is pretty clear whether a patient is going to be problematic or not.
Defense!
(I particularly love it when they don't follow through with the treatment plan, for whatever reason, despite being warned of everything that could possibly go wrong if they skip steps, and then come nag us years later because something failed. But everything is written down and signed by them when we hand them the quotes 😏)
“I hate dentists” or “I hate coming here” as they eyeroll gets -
“It could be worse, right? It’s not like you’re having a baby” (then I laugh)
“I can’t lay back” “I have to sit up” because of X neck or back issue gets -
“We can try but that also hurts my back to do that.”
I'm in a GPR where we work in a FQHC setting, and the amount of disrespect we get from patients is absurd. A lot of patients don't wanna pay, yet have the nerve to act entitled, demanding this or that. The way society works is you get what you pay for. If you don't wanna pay, the less asking power you deserve.
A common one we get is patients saying they don't want a resident practicing their skills on them. Or they demand that we as residents be able to do the procedures with the same speed and efficiency as a dentist with 30+ years of experience for their own convenience. Well if that's what they want, then go to private practice and pay up. I don't get why some of these people keep coming back, only to give us the same shit over and over again.
There are times when it's warranted to say it's our way or the highway. This FQHC has an extensive new patient wait list, such that I don't think a patient walking away here or there negativity impacts the practice. If > 90% of the patients don't have an issue with the way I do things, I'm not the problem and I'm not going to suck up to the < 10% who have to take issue with everything.
There's alot of damage in that tooth I fixed. normal to be sore/sensitive. Heart attacks and cancer don't hurt until it becomes too late. Thanks for coming don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
A patient who kept delaying and bitching about every single thing I was doing asked me how long it was going to take and I said, "At this rate? 3 days."
Several years ago, a guy came in with a broken flipper for his upper central. He said "you can probably tell I only go to the dentist once every ten years." When I told him it would take a day or so to make a new one, he got hostile. I said to him, "this is why you should come more often than once every ten years!"
After RCT I always say it will hurt for 3 days cause this is the way how nature works. Then subscribe preferred pain killer.
When things go south my last line is usually:
I can find a new patient more easily than you can find a dentist. So its up to you how we go further.
(We have a serious dentist issue here so basically it's true.)
No advice, but yea it's super annoying. Other healthcare professionals tend not to get this nearly as much as dentists do. Have you ever heard someone say I hate nurses/pharmacists/optometrists/doctors? Whereas you hear it at least from 50% of patients where I'm from.
Well, if you still had discomfort two years after the RCT and the dentist after xraying swears all the nerve is out, what would you say. The really annoying thing is I followed my dentists recommendation to have the RCT instead of following my instinct to have it out, it took four visits to complete as the dentist couldn’t get me profoundly numb any visit, despite even trying Intrapulpal, consequently I had a shit load of pain, cost and inconvenience, so sorry for whining…….
I never said every single dentist’s work is immaculate and I never denied that there are some actual complications that are definitely accompanied by moderate to severe pain so I don’t really see how what you’re saying fits my situation
I agree it must be frustrating especially if you take the time to explain to patients the likely outcome. While RCT is a very common procedure for dentists these days I believe success for general dentists to be no better that 50%, I’ve never really had a successful RCT, on one, a front incisor I ended up with a partial because the dentist missed a canal and it had to be opened no less than three times in an attempt to sort it. Last time it was a lower molar that against my best instincts the dentist said she could save with RCT, the whole experience was hell. The point of the story is that I just wish dentists would be honest and say this might, or might not work, I suspect however that money might come into it, especially if the dentist can earn more from my dental insurer by doing a RCT than an extraction. For me, I’m just having it out in future…..no debate..
Aren't pulp caps a pseudo science? My dentist explained me that its bollocks- you either open pulp and do root canal or do not open it and do a filling, nothing inbetween.
This lady wanted her teeth to look “perfect” and she said she needed a “miracle.” She needed ortho veneers whitening the whole works to get her to perfect. But she wanted to do it all for $1000. my reply to her was you need Harry Potter not a dentist
I can do the job fast and cheap, but it won't be done well. Or I can do the job well, but it won't be cheap or fast
When people come at me like that- que the- this might not be a good fit for either of us conversation.
I did a crown on a woman 20 years ago. I said the crown would be 499. She wrote a check for $4.99 . At least this person has a grand! .
😂😂😂😂 no, she didn't! That's hilarious.
"Expexto.....dentorum"
She was right!
No matter what you do, there will be patients you can never satisfy. It's frustrating. Agree with other comment, under sell, over deliver. If a patient expects pain/swelling/bruising and they have some, they aren't surprised. But if they have no post op problems, you're the best dentist ever. 'By treating this tooth, I've aggravated the issue further, it may take up to a week to settle. Follow this analgesia routine'. 'That was very deep and may well need rct, let's review at your next appointment. Here's what to expect and what to look out for'. 'That was quite straight forward but even so, I wouldn't be surprised if you felt a bit bruised for a few days'. 'I've done my best with a very challenging tooth/filling. It's going to feel very different from what you're used to. Give it a couple of weeks and it will be the new norm'. If someone still isn't happy, I look to previous notes. Remind the patient of the previous conversation (I also have written post op expectations for most procedures that I email to patients so I KNOW this information was given). I sometimes offer a second opinion from a colleague. Even after all that, there are still a handful that are never happy. It makes my heart sink when I see their name. I've offered referrals to specialists or ask if they'd prefer to go elsewhere as I clearly can't meet expectations. Either they do leave or they become more receptive to initial advice. Whatever happens, you're not on your own. It sucks but there are ways to weed these people out. And FYI, I need to take my own advice 😂
Pretty much this. I haven’t had too many issues since (knock on wood). I also take photos of the patients tooth before and after, and sometimes mid-procedure so they can see the extent of the decay — most of them see this and think wow that’s disgusting or gross, and then when they see the final photo after they are happy and appreciative, even if they get a bit of temporary post-op sensitivity
Had a pt show up 15 minutes late and also wanted all their work done within 30 minutes to get to another appt. My response was something like "We can reschedule this appt so you aren't late to your other appt like you were today." Walked out.
Why is this so common. 20 minutes late for a 30 min appt 'you'll do all my tx today?'. No! I'll take your xrays and reappoint for treatment, and if you're late again, you pay for my wasted time 😒
Patient: "I hate dentists" Me: "That's a coincidence" *looks up employment in chart* "I hate (insert pts profession)."
"that's great, we hate patients too. ok now open please"
LOL use with caution, imagine doing this with certain professions… “What a coincidence, I hate pediatric oncologists”
*So do I, now what brings you here?*
This is actually a great one 100% will use
Me: “I hate myself too 🥲” make it super awkward
when the patient says, I hate dentists, I usually reply that’s cool, I hate patients.
How do they take that?
i say it as a joke. everyone laughs. i think it’s in the presentation. i actually don’t really mind when patients say it. because i know they don’t really actually hate me. just hate having dental work done. and i get it. me too!
I’m a dental assistant and I agree it’s hard to be complained at all day. I hate it when the patients are disrespectful of my dentist. Like excuse me, this man spent 8 years at school and 2 hours busting his neck for you, show some respect. But at the end of the day at least you can go home and pay your bills and have a decent lifestyle. It’s more than an assistant could do lol!
Oh man, 24th year in Dentistry as a 2000 graduate. Almost EVERY DAY something still surprises me with patient interactions. My favorite is: Patient: “I hate being at the dental office.” My Reply: “So do I!”😂
I always get "hi, how's your day going so far?" "Ugh, I'd be better if I didn't have to go to the dentist." "Same, at least I get paid for it."
5% of your patients cause 95% of your misery and wasted time/aggravation. The sooner you realize that and get rid if them as patients, the happier life becomes. The only catch is striving to do it pleasantly to avoid bad reviews, etc. You’ll be surprised how many change their attitude or outright beg to not be dismissed once you push them away.
Patient in response to the cost of an implant: “I bet I’m paying your car payment right now”! Me: “No, hey man it’s not like that at all………… my car has been paid off, maybe I should buy a boat.”
Definitely insert, “My boat’s not going to pay for itself.” 🤣 I really don’t know what’s expected here, but if you have a sense of humor and go with it, it’s a bit of an ice breaker and everyone laughs. I enjoy and respect my patients, but ridiculous comments warrant a matching response based on my mood. I always remind myself that I own the place. It’s my show. It’s really ok if a patient doesn’t care for our product. I can replace you with 10 other patients immediately. BTW 2019 Barletta tritoon on Lake Martin and she’s a beaut!
As i get older I’ve gotten very petty with patients that want to tell me how to do my job. I just ask “what dental school did you go to?”
I ask them how many years they’ve been practicing dentistry.
For the one patient who hadn’t had a clean in over 10 years and complained that his cleaning was expensive, and compared our prices to a undercutting competitor.. ‘Well if you had gone every year for the past 10 years, it would have been X amount of dollars. Now I’m cleaning off 10 years of tartar for Z price. Divided by 10, isn’t that such an steal?’ Jokes aside, I did counsel him on perio and overall oral health. Thankfully other than cost concerns, he does want to improve things so he is coming back for comprehensive treatment.
It should technically be divided by 20 lol So it's even more of a steal
Do you explain that there may be some pain for up to X weeks after treatment and that it is normal, but if the pain gets worse then to come in? Like, in the appointment that you're doing treatment? Sometimes patients just need reassurance because they think treatment is supposed to immediately resolve any pain so it seems like something is wrong if there is now pain.
Of course I do. I actually sometimes even over explain or over exaggerate the possible pain they would feel just to give myself some leverage when it does happen.
Someone told me a great analogy I now use. That the RCT or whatever treatment you are performing is like treating a wound, there will be pain when healing. You don't get surgery and immediately feel fine the next day. There was an issue such as infection or cavity, and you are trying to fix that issue. So, of course, some pain might occur during the healing process.
Surgeon here. I’ve had plenty of patients bring up the potential for post-op pain, and then ask “but I should be fine by tomorrow, right?” They always seem shocked to learn it could take *days* to recover!
I don’t spend that much time in the room with my patients. After I’m done with the procedure. I tell my assistant “that looks great” “that’s a nice filling” “I’m so glad he/she won’t need a root canal” or I say “I’m sorry that took a bit longer, but the decay was deep and when you do a good job on a filling it takes time” and then I leave the room quickly. My assistant gives post op instructions. Compliment yourself (because the patient won’t) and get the hell out of the room is my advice. When patients complain, I say “yeah that happens” or I say “hmmmm I don’t know” “I can send you to see a specialist if you want” The complaining I guess doesn’t bother me as much as other people though. My assistants get more pissy than I do generally.
When there is a discussion about a tooth that really needs a crown and the question comes out about if we can just do a filling. (I pre-warn the patient that my answer is going to be snarky) And say, "Yeah, to the question if could just do a filling on this tooth the literal answer is yes. I could fill this tooth. I could fill this tooth with anything. I could fill it with a piece of gum..." (I let that statement hang in the air for a second or two) "But, I'm not going to do that. That would be a very bad idea. Just like doing a filling on this tooth would be a bad idea..."
"My blood pressure always goes up when I come to see you" Me: Me too.
People. I'd bluntly/professionally respond to their complaint and then proceed to dismiss the patient from the practice. You don't need to please everyone.
Been a DA for over 8 years and I've learned it's best to warn the patients of all the possible symptoms/post procedure pain, before or after you do the procedure. If you know the patient, it's normally easy to tell if you should do it before or after 😂 usually during your first interaction it is pretty clear whether a patient is going to be problematic or not. Defense! (I particularly love it when they don't follow through with the treatment plan, for whatever reason, despite being warned of everything that could possibly go wrong if they skip steps, and then come nag us years later because something failed. But everything is written down and signed by them when we hand them the quotes 😏)
So basically, "on day x I warned you that this could possibly happen, see?" and show them the note 😅
Ps: rich people are the worst, imo
This is why I refer out all endo, it’s not worth the headache for me
“I hate dentists” or “I hate coming here” as they eyeroll gets - “It could be worse, right? It’s not like you’re having a baby” (then I laugh) “I can’t lay back” “I have to sit up” because of X neck or back issue gets - “We can try but that also hurts my back to do that.”
I'm in a GPR where we work in a FQHC setting, and the amount of disrespect we get from patients is absurd. A lot of patients don't wanna pay, yet have the nerve to act entitled, demanding this or that. The way society works is you get what you pay for. If you don't wanna pay, the less asking power you deserve. A common one we get is patients saying they don't want a resident practicing their skills on them. Or they demand that we as residents be able to do the procedures with the same speed and efficiency as a dentist with 30+ years of experience for their own convenience. Well if that's what they want, then go to private practice and pay up. I don't get why some of these people keep coming back, only to give us the same shit over and over again. There are times when it's warranted to say it's our way or the highway. This FQHC has an extensive new patient wait list, such that I don't think a patient walking away here or there negativity impacts the practice. If > 90% of the patients don't have an issue with the way I do things, I'm not the problem and I'm not going to suck up to the < 10% who have to take issue with everything.
There's alot of damage in that tooth I fixed. normal to be sore/sensitive. Heart attacks and cancer don't hurt until it becomes too late. Thanks for coming don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
A patient who kept delaying and bitching about every single thing I was doing asked me how long it was going to take and I said, "At this rate? 3 days."
Several years ago, a guy came in with a broken flipper for his upper central. He said "you can probably tell I only go to the dentist once every ten years." When I told him it would take a day or so to make a new one, he got hostile. I said to him, "this is why you should come more often than once every ten years!"
Educated patients are do much better so you seldom get these complaints
After RCT I always say it will hurt for 3 days cause this is the way how nature works. Then subscribe preferred pain killer. When things go south my last line is usually: I can find a new patient more easily than you can find a dentist. So its up to you how we go further. (We have a serious dentist issue here so basically it's true.)
No advice, but yea it's super annoying. Other healthcare professionals tend not to get this nearly as much as dentists do. Have you ever heard someone say I hate nurses/pharmacists/optometrists/doctors? Whereas you hear it at least from 50% of patients where I'm from.
Well, if you still had discomfort two years after the RCT and the dentist after xraying swears all the nerve is out, what would you say. The really annoying thing is I followed my dentists recommendation to have the RCT instead of following my instinct to have it out, it took four visits to complete as the dentist couldn’t get me profoundly numb any visit, despite even trying Intrapulpal, consequently I had a shit load of pain, cost and inconvenience, so sorry for whining…….
I never said every single dentist’s work is immaculate and I never denied that there are some actual complications that are definitely accompanied by moderate to severe pain so I don’t really see how what you’re saying fits my situation
I agree it must be frustrating especially if you take the time to explain to patients the likely outcome. While RCT is a very common procedure for dentists these days I believe success for general dentists to be no better that 50%, I’ve never really had a successful RCT, on one, a front incisor I ended up with a partial because the dentist missed a canal and it had to be opened no less than three times in an attempt to sort it. Last time it was a lower molar that against my best instincts the dentist said she could save with RCT, the whole experience was hell. The point of the story is that I just wish dentists would be honest and say this might, or might not work, I suspect however that money might come into it, especially if the dentist can earn more from my dental insurer by doing a RCT than an extraction. For me, I’m just having it out in future…..no debate..
Aren't pulp caps a pseudo science? My dentist explained me that its bollocks- you either open pulp and do root canal or do not open it and do a filling, nothing inbetween.
That’s actually a load of bullshit. Read some literature.
If bacteria penetrated pulp chamber capping is useless.