Dentists’ Perceptions of Problem Behaviors in Patients

Abstract

Our sample of 376 dentists in general practice provided a number of useful insights into the problems that dentists experience with their patients. For general problems of patient cooperation, the frequency of occurrence and annoyance to the dentist were related. High on the list in both categories were maintaining poor oral hygiene, missing or being late for appointments, and not paying bills. Not providing an accurate history ranked first in bother to the dentist but appears to occur infrequently. When specific chair problems were considered, an inverse relationship was found between frequency of occurrence and bother to the dentist. Showing fear was the most frequent behavior but ranked lowest in bother. Grabbing the dentist's hand ranked first in bother but last in frequency of occurrence. Some annoying patient behaviors, such as those that devalue, criticize, or question the dentist's performance, are attempts to cope with anxiety. Viewed in this fashion, the incidence of fear-related behaviors may be higher than actually perceived by dentists. Because such behaviors are likely to result in feelings of personal assault on the dentist's part, they are likely to have a deleterious effect on the dentist-patient relationship. Dentists who are able to avoid feeling threatened by patient hostility may be able to successfully resolve the potential conflict to the mutual benefit of both dentist and patient. The actual problems that dentists have with their patients have been neglected and need extensive research. Our study is a first attempt to outline the boundaries of this area. Even these descriptive findings point to crucial elements in dentist-patient relationships. We hope that our findings will lead to further research on the dentist in the dentist-patient equation as well as to practical means of coping with the problems that patients present.