How Dental Hygienists Attempt To Motivate Patients
Most people are motivated by different factors, and everyone’s motivated differently. Motivation is achieved through a need that wants to be met, and this can be reached through persistence, direction, and effort.
Since everyone has different needs, such as saving money or increasing their popularity, people will respond differently to different types of motivators. Depending on the severity of their need, a person will put in a small or large amount of effort and persistence in making sure their need has been met.
It should be a need for everyone to take care of their teeth and gums. However, many people lack the knowledge and motivation for the need of proper dental care.
The motivation for proper dental care is achieved through helping you, the client, understand exactly what their dental problem is, demonstrating that I, as their dental professional, am on their side by listening and providing positive feedback to what is important for their health and helping them set realistic goals.
It is the job of a Dental Hygienist to demonstrate positive nonverbal and verbal cues to build a trusting relationship with a patient.
In the article “The Dental Hygienist’s Role in Patient Home-Care Motivation,” Lynn Meltzer states that “nonverbal cues make up 80% of most of our interpersonal messages.”
Since nonverbal communication conveys a large part of the message to the patient, it is extremely important for a Dental hygienist to be aware of the non-verbal signals that they are sending. Nodding, smiling, and looking at the patient when they are speaking are nonverbal cues that will help show the patient that the hygienist cares for what they are saying. The hygienist should verbally identify and non-verbally show the problem(if possible) to the patient while taking time to answer the patient’s questions in an empathetic way in order to help to build trust for the patient and Hygienist. Developing both types of trust allows the patient to feel physically and psychologically safe. Patients will begin to open up more with questions, concerns about their dental health and they will feel comfortable expressing their needs, which allows for the hygienist and patient to work together as a team.
After the dental hygienist identifies the oral health need of the patient, the dental hygienist should help the patient set realistic goals for their home health care, and provide positive feedback to the patient. Once the oral health problem is identified to the patient, the hygienist should ask the patient if they understand exactly what their problem is. Dental hygienists should praise their patients for wanting to better their oral health. The more positive reinforcement of positive feedback, the more likely they are to continue wanting to better there oral health.
In the article “Five Principles Of Patient Education”, Diane Huntley states, “…present only as much information as the patient can understand and process at one time.”
The goals need to be realistic, and the patient can not learn many skills at once. Once the hygienist gives the patient his or her one home-care skill, the hygienist should now ask for the patient’s feedback.
The one home-care skill should be demonstrated to the hygienist, and then mastered at home. It is important to have the patient demonstrate their newly acquired skill, so the hygienist would be able to make sure the patient has learned it correctly and to also provide positive feedback. It is important to set a goal for the patients’ new home-care skill that they have agreed to and to check their progress during their next visit to the dental office.
If the patient is reluctant to set goals for him or herself, the dental hygienist should create a need for the patient by explaining the consequences of not taking care of his or her oral health. The hygienist can not force the patient to take care of his or her teeth, but the hygienist can try and influence the patient’s decision by explaining the benefits and consequences of doing and not doing home-care. Dental Hygienists can motivate a patient by explaining the overall health benefits of proper dental care. In fact, “…more studies are made public linking oral health to… heart disease, diabetes, premature babies and other serious health problems.” (Meltzer) When someone does not take responsibility for his or her oral health, there may be serious consequences to his or her medical health. These diseases can be avoided with proper dental home-care, but are very expensive and time-consuming to treat. Flossing for two minutes every night, and taking care of their oral health is definitely worth lowing your chances of these serious health conditions.
The first step in motivating a patient is to develop trust so they can both work together to set goals. Next, the hygienist should also provide positive feedback to keep the patient motivated. The patient needs to want to help themselves because the hygienist can not fix the patient. It is the hygienist’s job to show the patients the benefits and consequences of not taking care of their oral health needs. By informing the client of possible medical consequences like diabetes and heart disease, the patient will have more motivation to better their oral healthcare. Developing trust with the client and providing necessary knowledge about oral health will motivate the patient to take a more serious approach to their dental health.
Meltzer, Lynn. (1999, April) The Dental Hygienist’s Role in Patient Home-Care Motivation pp1-12
Huntley DE: Five principles of patient education. Dental Hygiene 1979; 53:420-423
