|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| "Women's Life and Health" is the interview series that features active professional women about their health, lifestyle and career. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Interview vol.1 |
Gilia Rethman -Part2 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| When you say quality of life, it includes various aspects not only physical health but also mental health and social life and … all the other things. |
That’s a very important thought because those of us in dentistry or dental hygiene look at quality of life more from the standpoint of oral health and overall health. Patients look at it from the standpoint of how it makes them feel. If they feel good about themselves, if they think, “Oh I have a nice smile” “My breath is fresh”, that’s important for them. So if we can tie those two messages together, the feel-good message along with the wellness message, then that’s when we can have an impact.
I present educational programs to dental professionals on communication between clinicians and patients.During the program I talk about things that I call “hot buttons”. “Hot buttons” are things that are appealing to people and cause them to act. So one person might have a hot button that is completely different from another person. But it seems that overall one hot button that everybody has is that they want to look good. That hot button is one that dental professionals can use to communicate with patients to help get the message about good oral health across. So I am actually very glad now that there is more emphasis on aesthetics because that is one more way that dental health professionals can communicate with their patients, because that is what patients want. |
|
| Do the “ hot buttons” differ from age groups? |
| Absolutely! In fact, different personality types have different hot buttons. Some personality types are very dominant, and these are the people who are usually CEOs and leaders. Their hot button is “don’t waste my time”.They are not interested in small talk.They want to know that the oral health professional knows what she is doing, and they want you to do your job well. There is another personality who is more interactive. These are the people who are entertainers, singers, or may work in a restaurant. Interactive people like to talk and they don’t think that is a waste of time. They think it is important to spend time communicating. So you can see if the person you are treating is dominant, but you use the approach of working with an interactive personality, they will think you are wasting their time. On the other hand, if the person you are treating is interactive, but you approach them like a dominant personality, they won’t like that! You can use this information about different personality types to appeal to patients better. |
|
|
|
| 1/3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|