shamrockerin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 752
- Location
- New Hampshire, USA
I'm right there with you Shamrockerin. I have historically disliked dental assistants and cringed when they would ask me about school as a child as I knew it was not genuine.
Oh good, then it's not just me! I was kind of a sensitive kid, so I thought maybe it was just my own inability to take it as "just another part" of the whole experience. Even though I was very shy as a kid, I grew into my ability to find things in common with others and build conversation on them. I enjoy talking to other people, but it has to be a genuine conversation, not just chatter.
I think another member here was right on with saying that the assistant just becomes one more person to feel embarrassed in front of. My dentist unfortunately likes to acknowledge my nervousness and sometimes will mention something to the assistant about it and while I'm glad she's aware of it and wants to make the assistant aware of it (who I'm sure can see for her own eyes that I'm a freaked out mess) I just want to disappear right at that moment.
I know what you mean. The first time I met my current dentist, it was on the assistant's off day, and he was just stopping into the office to see another patient and meet me. So when I went back the next time, the assistant wasn't really aware of my fear, and he had to mention it to her. I felt so stupid and ridiculous at that moment. I am pretty sure the assistant is younger than I am, or we are about the same age, and I was acting like a child (not on purpose obviously).
The only thing I can suggest is maybe try to cut the chatting short with single word responses that she can't build a conversation off of. In other words, give her nothing to run with. Responses like "Fine" "Good" "Yes" "No" although us nervous type tend to stick to those canned responses anyway unless you are a nervous rambler!
This is pretty much what I do every time, not sure if it's just because I am so nervous or if because I am trying to cue her to stop talking. . .perhaps both simultaneously. She always asks how I am, and I always reply "I'm here", so it's up to her to interpret it.
I don't enjoy being rude to people and I certainly don't like being a terrible patient, in fact it just makes me feel worse about the whole problem. But just BEING there brings out all the worst parts of my personality: sarcasm, rudeness, being uncommunicative, stubbornness. . it's like Pandora's Box.