Hello Everyone!
This week’s episode is a re-run BUT.. (listen in to know what it is)
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Dr Milisha Chotai completed her undergraduate dental degree at the world – renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden in 2008. She is experienced in the treatment planning, surgical placement and restoration as well as maintenance of dental implants. Dr Milisha is very passionate about all aspects of implant dentistry and loves working with patients to deliver treatment to the highest standards.
In this episode we discuss:
– Her upcoming book – Mastering Communication in Dentistry
– The importance of nonverbal communication
– Confidence and how it affects your relationships with patients
Can you share with us what your book is about?
The book is called Mastering Communication in Dentistry, and it covers everything from how your own personality affects your communication, to how to deal with anxious patients, how to discuss fees and treatments, and how to improve your verbal and non-verbal communication. It has quite a bit of everything really that a clinician really needs to know.
So what compelled you to write the book?
One of the reasons why I decided to write this book was that I had a problem when I was a brand new dentist. I graduated in Sweden and then I came to the UK to start a private practice. Now in Sweden when you graduate you work for the government so you dont really have to worry about your earnings and can focus on your skills, but when I came to the UK, suddenly I had to sell to make an earning. It started affecting me and I was pretty much working part time. I turned to books to help figure out how I could get better patient acceptance and all the books I found was on selling, and there was nothing there that I could use in my day to day bread and butter practice. It was all about asking patients “What is your dream smile,” or “If you had a million dollars what would you do?” That’s not realistic. It works in some places probably, but for a normal practice it doesnt work. So then I turned to psychology and research on behavior. Thats when I started writing the book because I saw a change in my practice by reading this research and thats what this book is based on.
You mentioned earlier about non-verbal communication. Any tips you can share with us concerning that?
Non-verbal communication gives meaning to what you are saying. When you talk to patients, they may not understand all that you are saying but they will definitely make conclusions based on your non-verbal communication. If you are saying one thing and body or actions are portraying something else, thats not going to yield the results that you want, and patients will feel confused and maybe feel like you are being misleading. The first thing to think about is not to conflict your words with your body language. The second thing you need to think about is that non-verbal communication is everywhere and not just with your patients, its with your nurse and anyone you interact with on a day to day. It starts outside the surgery or operatory. For example, what does it communicate when you are late versus if you are on time? A variant of non-verbal communication is listening and showing that you understand. A big part of that is eye contact, and unless you are actually making eye contact with someone, you’re not really going to show them that you care about what they are saying.
Can you give us some examples of incongruent behavior?
So if you are telling someone that they need a root canal while your hands are flapping about and you are trying to explain the procedure is going to make you look stressed. If I have my hands relaxed on my knees and not crossing my legs it is going to show that I am relaxed and together. Looking away from a patient is going to make me look dishonest, but staring at a patient sternly will make it seem more serious or that you are being aggressive. The best balance is make intermittent eye contact with a light smile, and most importantly, I would not explain the procedure but instead ask them how much they know about the procedure in question.
You mention in your book about having and portraying confidence. Can you tell us a little more about the importance of confidence and how it affects the practice?
When you are trying to promote something, you need to look confident because patient need to feel like you know what you are doing. A technique that is backed by research is the “Superman” pose. So what I used to do is go to the restroom, take a couple deep breaths and put hands on your hips and stand in the superman pose for a few minutes. It really works, you will feel much more confident and relaxed. I used to do this before difficult procedures and presenting difficult treatment plans. So I think confidence is probably one of the most important personal traits that one needs to work on if you are going to communicate properly with patients.