Dental Communication

I am one of those people who generally forgoes the convenience of technology for human contact. I like to walk into the bank and speak to the tellers instead of going through the ATM. I would rather converse with a cashier than enter the self check out line. I prefer to purchase clothes, books, etc at a store rather than online. I know that I may be in the minority here, and even though I would consider myself to be an introverted person, I like those personal connections. I like shooting the breeze with people and I even enjoy the surface conversations - only because they are so brief. Sometimes, when I am feeling frisky, I like to challenge myself with those grumpy folks and figure out how I can make them smile before I leave. I should warn you that I am pretty good at this and generally dominate the challenge.

There is only one place where these friendly conversations are difficult. The dentist. I took one of my bajillion (yeah, that's right, a bajillion) sick days to go get my teeth cleaned at the dentist today. **Side Note: My dentist said I have great teeth and I am at low risk for cavities, mouth cancer and gum disease. I am patting myself on the back right now.** The staff at my clinic is really friendly and I always seem to get the same spunky red-headed hygienist who remembers me and our past conversations. There is usually a friendly tête-à-tête on the way to the dentist chair, but then when my mouth becomes a host to a plethora of dentist instruments, the conversations still continue. I always think to myself, "Am I supposed to answer that right now?" Now, my spunky, red head has turned these conversations into an art form. She'll ask me a question and then pull the instruments out so I can answer. But with those who don't have her finesse, I have been known alternate "uh-huhs/uh-uhs" with small laughs or in desperate times, muffled answers.

I feel like this is a common problem when someone goes to the dentist. It is natural to want to have a conversation with someone, especially when their face mere inches away from your face but obviously the nature of the meeting makes this a little challenging. So I have taken it upon myself to do a little brainstorming and troubleshooting for this issue. Here are a few ideas so far.


1. Magna Doddles. Remember those? They are an awesome blast from the past and would be a great way to help their patients communicate with the hygienists. As an added bonus, they are also "green" since they are reusable. On second thought, maybe that would be awkward since you would have to write with your arms up in the air to see what you're writing. I am thinking that may get in the way of the hygienists scrapping at the plaque on your teeth.

2. Morse Code. Patients and staff could learn Morse code. Hygienists could speak audibly and then patients could respond with dots and dashes. This might be a little challenging since Morse Code is used many by secret agents and spies. But as an added bonus, patients might be able to nab a Russian spy with this new language. I am thinking the benefits don't outweigh the problems with this idea.

3. Sign Language. Though a valid idea, I am thinking we would run into similar problems that we had with the Magna Doddle. We would have to put our hands up in the air and thus risk getting in the middle of the work being done on our teeth.

Alright, so this is clearly a working document, but I am thinking that maybe all hygienists should take a lesson from my red headed friend and just politely take out the utensils when they ask their patients a question . . . although I would love to work out the kinks in that Magna Doodle idea.