As with any service-oriented business, dental practices sometimes treat patients who behave in a hostile or abusive manner.
About half of U.S. dentists have experienced verbal or reputational aggression from patients in the past year, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.
Hostile patient behavior can result in negative outcomes if left unchecked, according to the California Dental Association. In a Dec. 1 article, the organization offered the following tips to handle patient hostility:
- Dental practices should communicate clear expectations regarding how staff members should interact with each other and patients. Practice owners are responsible for fostering an environment in which staff feel comfortable voicing concerns.
- If an office manager witnesses a patient interacting with a staff member in a hostile or abusive way, they should inform the patient that communicating with staff in that manner is unacceptable. The office manager should be a resource that staff members trust, a role that can be taken on by a dentist if a practice does not employ an office manager.
- In the event of a hostile patient interaction, practice owners should document the incident and all steps that were taken to address the issue. If a complaint citing a hostile work environment is submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor, this record should be kept in an employee file.
- If a patient's behavior is making the atmosphere in a dental practice hostile or abusive, dental staff should dismiss them from the practice, as long as the reason for doing so is not discriminatory and the patient is not midtreatment. Patients can be notified about the withdrawal from further services initially at the practice or via phone call, then via a dismissal letter. The letter should contain accurate notes regarding the interaction, using quotation marks to record relevant statements whenever possible.
More articles on dental:
Tooth loss may be long-term COVID-19 side effect
Income strongly linked to oral health, UCLA study finds
Aspen Dental continues expansion in Texas