Gloves Off: Try this instead of talking down to patients

Jan. 17, 2023
As we are educating patients about their oral health, they may think we're talking down to them. Dr. David Rice and Amanda Hill, BSDH, RDH, share strategies we can use to nag less and in turn get more patients on board.
David R. Rice, DDS, Chief editor

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in being clinical "experts" that we forget patients are their own experts. As we are telling our patients what they should be doing and "educating" them about their oral health, they may be thinking, "Don't talk down to me!" In this episode of Gloves Off, Dr. David Rice and Amanda Hill, BSDH, RDH, talk about some strategies we can use to nag less—and get more patients on board instead.

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Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Through the Loupes newsletter, a publication of the Endeavor Business Media Dental Group. Read more articles and subscribe to Through the Loupes.

About the Author

David R. Rice, DDS | Chief editor

Founder of the nation’s largest student and new-dentist community, igniteDDS, David R. Rice, DDS, travels the world speaking, writing, and connecting today’s top young dentists with tomorrow’s most successful dental practices. He is the editorial director of DentistryIQ and leads a team-centered restorative and implant practice in East Amherst, New York. With 27 years of practice in the books, Dr. Rice is trained at the Pankey Institute, the Dawson Academy, Spear Education, and most prolifically at the school of hard knocks. Contact him at [email protected].