The Link Between Trust and Dentistry

Dental care is vital to not only oral health but also to overall health. Someone with poor oral health may find their health negatively impacted as well. For the 40% of patients who don’t trust their dentist, however, getting proper oral care can be difficult.

Why Is Trust Important in Dentistry?

If a patient doesn’t trust their dentist, they’re more likely to experience anxiety about dental appointments. Patients that don’t have trust in their dentist may put off appointments until they absolutely have to. Untrusting patients may also refuse treatments that they need because they don’t think that their dentist has their best interests at heart. Ultimately, this could result in poorer outcomes for the patient that are preventable if the dentist can instill trust.

What Drives Trust in Patients?

There are three core factors that make up trust: empathy, authenticity, and logic. At Eagle Harbor Dental, we do our best to build trust with our patients using these three core factors.

Consider these core factors when selecting your dentist. You want someone who you feel cares about you as a patient and a person. You also want to feel that the dentist you have chosen is competent and has your best interest in mind when suggesting treatment options.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of other people and to share in them. It’s a vital quality in a dentist, especially because a number of patients are nervous. Empathy not only helps dentists put themselves in their patients’ shoes and understand where they’re coming from, it also helps to show patients that their dentist truly cares about them and their well-being.

Authenticity

Another factor that goes into trust is authenticity, which is the quality of being true to oneself. While professional behavior is important, dentists should also let patients get to know the real them as well. Knowing the real person that’s behind the lab coat or scrubs can help a patient to feel more at ease.

Logic

Patients also want to know that their dentist is competent. Your dentist should be happy to explain what they’re doing and why to both help you understand and to provide proof of expertise in properly treating you. It’s unlikely you’ll want to accept treatment suggestions from a dentist who you don’t feel knows what they’re doing.

What We Do to Improve Trust With Our Patients

It’s important to us that you feel comfortable when you’re in the dental chair. Our goal is to use our expertise to recommend the best plan for your long-term oral health. However, we can’t do this if you don’t trust us.

To build rapport with our patients, we thoroughly explain treatment options, focus on your oral health as an individual, and hire only the best dental professionals to administer your treatments.

Explain Everything

A lot of the tools dentists use can look scary to patients, who won’t know what they’re for. We are happy to ease your nerves by explaining every tool we use, what we’re doing to your teeth, and why we’re doing it. This is great for us because we can explain the logic and reasoning for various treatments and it helps patients because understanding the process can help reduce nerves.

Create a Relaxing Environment

We try to make our office a place you’ll feel comfortable. You can even take a tour through our office online to familiarize yourself with our office. We offer amenities and refreshments like water, refreshment towels, neck pillows, and soft blankets.

Focus on You as an Individual

Our patients are important to us which is why we strive to get the best possible outcomes for every patient that ends up in our dental chairs. We keep notes on each patient’s oral health and treatment preferences to help us give you the best experience. Keeping track of your personalized health history and preferences results in better dental outcomes and gives you high-quality, personalized treatment.

Make Sure Our Staff Are Supportive

From our dentists to our assistants and our front office staff to our hygienists, we’ve been careful to hire dental professionals who are both skilled and friendly. We take the time to be personable and supportive to help our patients relax during various dental treatment processes.

For informational purposes only.