Dentists are quite good at recognising patients who are nervous even when they try to hide their anxiety. Patient try to their anxiety but there will be certain physical signs that will give the game away quite easily.
So here are some of the physical traits that patients exhibit which indicates that they are anxious or nervous.
1. They will have a dry mouth and have difficulty in swallowing. As a result, they also will find it difficult to speak to you and form words adequately. Because they have dry lips, they will frequently try to moisten the lips by licking them.
2. These patients are often restless and hyperactive. In the waiting room, they are flicking through pages of the magazines quickly without reading and find it very difficult to keep still. Even when they come into the treatment room, they will keep moving about and not sit still in one position. They keep getting up during treatment to rinse or spit out. It is difficult to carry out treatment to them if they don’t breathe through their nose.
3. They may complain that their heart is racing and they are having palpitations. This is due to the adrenaline pumping around their body which is to do with the ,fright flight response
4. A very good and obvious sign will be by observing the breathing. It will be shallow and frequent rather than slow and deep in a relaxed person who breathes deeply and slowly. During treatment, they will feel that they are choking and keep stopping you.
5. Patient who is nervous may also be excessively sensitive to noise. As soon as you pick up an instrument they immediately turn around to see what you are doing or what it is. They jump at every sound.
6. The patient may also ask to use bathroom at frequent intervals as they may have loose bowel movements or a need to micturate frequently.
7. Some patients also start to talk more than they usually do and this is probably a way in which they feel they can keep a control of the situation.