Damnit Jim, I’m a dentist, not a psychologist!
We all have patients that drive us crazy. We all have patients whose inner workings are a mystery to us too. The good news is, you don’t have to be in their heads to have a good working relationship with them.
Human beings are irrational. But fortunately, we’re irrational in predictable ways, and people who understand that have a far easier time in practice. By understanding and being able to identify different personality types, and know the inborn tendencies consistent in every person and culture, we can learn to better work with our patients and their expectations. Communication is key, but you need to learn how to keep patients in their left brain, how to speak the language each individual understands, and how to lead them to want the healthiest outcome.