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Personally, if it was me in that situation I would not go back to that dentist.
You are paying this person a lot of money, plus it's your body that is being worked on. You have every right to have everything explained to you in detail.
I have a number of dental procedures that need to be done and if I go to a new Dentist I would have to have a new set of XRays and a new exam which my insurance would not pay because of the once every six months rule. I am afraid I will have to put up with the uncommunicative Dentist until all my work is done and then try to find someone nicer next year.
Maybe stop acting like a kid and before your next appointment nicely say to the dentist, "While you're working on my teeth and when it's appropriate and won't distract you, could you tell me what you're doing? I'm quite nervous about dental procedures and knowing what's going on helps relax me." Is that really so hard?
I have a number of dental procedures that need to be done and if I go to a new Dentist I would have to have a new set of XRays and a new exam which my insurance would not pay because of the once every six months rule. I am afraid I will have to put up with the uncommunicative Dentist until all my work is done and then try to find someone nicer next year.
One would think that someone who chooses an occupation like dentistry, where he's dealing with people all day, would be friendlier.
Funny how everyone's different. My dentist will explain every little thing while he's working, even things that are very obvious.
Too bad that you're stuck with your dentist because of the insurance, but I completely understand.
Hope he's at least doing a good job with your teeth, even if he won't discuss anything.
Don't give up asking him to explain the process as he goes along. Be frank with him, don't get passive/aggressive. Just state - without apologizing - that you need for him to explain the steps he is taking, when he takes them. He doesn't need to tell you the exact medical terminology (unless you want that too), or the technical names of the instruments and tools he's using (unless you want to know) - but simple explanations like:
"I'm about to check your gums now."
"This side of your mouth - the upper right quadrant - has a little swelling between two of the teeth, so I'm going to probe a little deeper."
"Ah that side of your mouth is excellent, nothing to do there but a little brush and polish."
You can even use those as examples of the types of things you want to hear. He might be unsure, for some reason, of what -kind- of explanations you're expecting.
I'm pretty dental phobic, and knowing exactly what's going on helps me to feel a sense of control. So it's extremely important for my dentist to tell me what he's doing. Fortunately, he understands this.
On longer procedures, his dental nurse will also give me a progress report, such as "We're about 25% done, you're doing great!" That really helps, too.
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