Dentist Talk

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Why do Dentist always try to talk to you while they're poking and prodding in your mouth? Do they actually listen to you or they just like to hear gibberish? Can they understand what we're saying?

Okay. As an dental assistant of five years I can actually shine some light on this question. Let me answer a couple other questions first.

Q: Can you understand me?
A: Yes. For the most part we can understand everything you're saying. We are well-trained in the art of open mouth conversations.

Q: Do you really care about what we talk about?
A: Yes. It's the best part of our jobs! I went into dentistry because I liked the one on one patient interaction. You can compare it to networking. What if we're looking for a dog breeder and you happen to be one?! And since you don't want me to "find" any cavities you'll offer me a great deal? Perfect!!

Now the age old question... Why do we do it?

Many people hate going to the Dentist. And most of those people are always anxious and stressed out when sitting in the dental chair. Which make it very difficult to work on you. When you are tense your mouth tends to stiffen and we can't pull your cheeks back to get to those cavity-prone molars. Then we end up sitting in awkward positions and straining our back and neck just to see clearly.

But when you're more relaxed, your cheeks tend to be more stretchy and we don't have to bend over backwards to see. This is why we start a conversation with you. People are just more relaxed and willing to open wide when they can talk about something positive. Like how much fun you had on your vacation or if you need to blow off some stream from work. You may not notice this, but this is how we get you to be comfortable in our chairs. And of course to get you to come back in six months!

This is just another random rant by Yet Another Angry Asian Girl.