What are some red flags you watch out for in patients?

[Mauricio45]

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When a new patient bad-mouths their previous dentist or hygienist. Automatic red flag. Was it the dentist or was it themselves? Nobody wants to point the blame on themselves. I've noticed these "subset" of patients tend to be the most pain the ass patients to deal with.

 

[Mauricio45]

Or patients who blame you for things beyond your control. I.e. a hematoma complication. Makes the job extra stressful.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

If a patient ever jokes about suing a medical professional

 

[TanMan]

Patients with hyphenated last names, those that came from offices that spoil their patients, those that mention anything about reviews, patients who complement you too much, those that try to tell you how to do your job, etc... there's a lot more. I took some off the list because there's red flags and just annoying habits.

If a patient ever jokes about suing a medical professional

I've had a few of those. The best way to combat that is to say that most good lawyers won't take dental medmal cases because they aren't profitable enough (which is true, and most of them know this when making "jokes/threats"). Bottom feeder lawyers might take it. Call their bluff and they'll tend to be shamed enough not to come back.

 

[Saddleshoes]

Allergic to Tylenol and Ibuprofen.
Fibromyalgia
Can only come in on Friday afternoon.
Come in with a brown paper bag containing all their medications.
Drive past 25 other dentists to get to your office.

 

[145bluz]

When patients come in with several sets of dentures and show you where they adjusted them with a tool at home. Then, they want you to make a max and mand denture for them.

 

[Mauricio45]

When patients come in with several sets of dentures and show you where they adjusted them with a tool at home. Then, they want you to make a max and mand denture for them.

Lol. Luckily, I have a denturist nearby that I refer all my denture cases too. Haven't touched one since dental school.

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

Patients with hyphenated last names, those that came from offices that spoil their patients, those that mention anything about reviews, patients who complement you too much, those that try to tell you how to do your job, etc... there's a lot more. I took some off the list because there's red flags and just annoying habits.

why are hyphenated last names a red flag? 😵 ....

 

[TanMan]

why are hyphenated last names a red flag? 😵 ....

It's not necessarily just the hyphenated last names that are an issue. I can only think of two couples with hyphenated last names that are pretty awesome in my book, but most often than not, those with hyphenated last names are more difficult that your average demographic. I can only hypothesize the reason, but there's two types of hyphenated last names - ones that are inherited and ones that are through marriage. I believe it stems from a different relationship dynamic between two individuals (in either marriage or raising the child that inherits that last name) that deviates away from the tradition of taking the father's last name in your traditional family model. Now, deviation from that, either by "choice" or subjugation of one partner over the other would dictate that some deviation from the normal naming taxonomy that our society shows some kind of struggle somewhere over naming conventions. Anyway, I digress - I find those that refuse to give up their last name in marriage and hyphenate it tend to be dominant over all family matters to the point of subjugating their partner. Now, that tends to translate to people trying to "have it their way" when it comes to their dental work. I don't know too much about the children that receive two last names, but I figure there's something in the family dynamic that could be different in a two parental unit family. This is my line/reasoning behind the observations that I have made throughout the years with people who have hyphenated names via marriage. I'm sure there's tons of single parent families and so on, but I'm not going into that because they usually end up having one last name, and the main issue with a single divorced parent family with shared custody is making sure BOTH parents give consent for their child.

Now, you might say, this isn't everyone. I agree, it's not, and there's one good test to see if the hyphenated last name individuals are problematic before you even see them. If their last name was Mrs. Smith-Jones, have your staff call them Mrs. Smith. If they put up a ruckus over it, then you already know it's a PITA patient.

I'm not a sociology major, if anyone has an answer for this, please post. I'd like to know WHY they tend to be more difficult.

 

[vk223]

When patients come in with several sets of dentures and show you where they adjusted them with a tool at home. Then, they want you to make a max and mand denture for them.

Second this. Had a patient claimed they are engineer and adjust their own dentures. And patients who tell you HOW to take impressions and make their denture. A pain in the ass.

 

[TanMan]

Allergic to Tylenol and Ibuprofen.
Fibromyalgia
Can only come in on Friday afternoon.
Come in with a brown paper bag containing all their medications.
Drive past 25 other dentists to get to your office.

- Allergic to everything! Makes you wonder how they didn't die from anaphylaxis coming to your office. I'd probably say allergic to local anesthetic, topical, and latex. Most people don't have a true latex allergy and it's annoying because I have to wear nitriles. Tactile sensation isn't the same.
- "Fibromyalgia" - Ugh, horrendously non-specific and tend to complain of pain everywhere. Refer to neurologist/PCP and let them deal with it. To cut it off, I prefer to say that I can take care of your dental problems, but it may not alleviate the pain that you're feeling.
- Friday afternoon people aren't too bad, they tend to be the working class that wait all week to come in because they can't miss work. Usually end up with extractions or rcts.
- That dreaded brown paper bag... my grandma had one of those too! Who packs these meds in brown paper bags? They tend to be paranoid about drug interactions and blood thinners.

Lol. Luckily, I have a denturist nearby that I refer all my denture cases too. Haven't touched one since dental school.

High-five! I love having a no-denture practice. I don't fix them, I don't touch them, if a patient insists, I say I'm not good at dentures ,if you want something good, I'm not the guy for dentures.

 

[Mauricio45]

High-five! I love having a no-denture practice. I don't fix them, I don't touch them, if a patient insists, I say I'm not good at dentures ,if you want something good, I'm not the guy for dentures.

Glad to hear! Alot of dentists here in BC (and throughout Canada) don't do dentures. We have denturists which I am eternally grateful for.

It seems to be an "American" thing that general dentists there do dentures because I believe the USA don't have denturists. Good riddance! Hated doing them in D school.

 

[TanMan]

Glad to hear! Alot of dentists here in BC (and throughout Canada) don't do dentures. We have denturists which I am eternally grateful for.

It seems to be an "American" thing that general dentists there do dentures because I believe the USA don't have denturists. Good riddance! Hated doing them in D school.

Some states have denturists in the US. I just refer all the patients to another GP that does dentures. If he can convince them to do something else besides dentures, then more power to him. Removing dentures from the menu was the best thing that I ever did in my office. I don't even want to do anything removable with bars or locators. I got rid of a difficult segment of the population and demographic (those with a brown bag full of meds - see above).

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

It's not necessarily just the hyphenated last names that are an issue. I can only think of two couples with hyphenated last names that are pretty awesome in my book, but most often than not, those with hyphenated last names are more difficult that your average demographic. I can only hypothesize the reason, but there's two types of hyphenated last names - ones that are inherited and ones that are through marriage. I believe it stems from a different relationship dynamic between two individuals (in either marriage or raising the child that inherits that last name) that deviates away from the tradition of taking the father's last name in your traditional family model. Now, deviation from that, either by "choice" or subjugation of one partner over the other would dictate that some deviation from the normal naming taxonomy that our society shows some kind of struggle somewhere over naming conventions. Anyway, I digress - I find those that refuse to give up their last name in marriage and hyphenate it tend to be dominant over all family matters to the point of subjugating their partner. Now, that tends to translate to people trying to "have it their way" when it comes to their dental work. I don't know too much about the children that receive two last names, but I figure there's something in the family dynamic that could be different in a two parental unit family. This is my line/reasoning behind the observations that I have made throughout the years with people who have hyphenated names via marriage. I'm sure there's tons of single parent families and so on, but I'm not going into that because they usually end up having one last name, and the main issue with a single divorced parent family with shared custody is making sure BOTH parents give consent for their child.

Now, you might say, this isn't everyone. I agree, it's not, and there's one good test to see if the hyphenated last name individuals are problematic before you even see them. If their last name was Mrs. Smith-Jones, have your staff call them Mrs. Smith. If they put up a ruckus over it, then you already know it's a PITA patient.

I'm not a sociology major, if anyone has an answer for this, please post. I'd like to know WHY they tend to be more difficult.

Hmm okay! I see where you're coming from! I'm Hispanic and traditionally mom's keep their names and the kids get both.
But I don't know about non-Latino origin hyphenated names.
My name is always butchered on healthcare records but I just smile and explain my Uber long name. Women (in my experience) are cool with being referred to as Mrs. Husband's name but legally add his behind their maiden and their children are given his last name first and hers hyphenated at the end. Traditionally, the son's keep it, the daughters drop it when they get married.

Just long standing tradition.
In their case, nothing to do with being defiant or not loving America with their hearts and souls 😀

 

[TanMan]

Hmm okay! I see where you're coming from! I'm Hispanic and traditionally mom's keep their names and the kids get both.
But I don't know about non-Latino origin hyphenated names.
My name is always butchered on healthcare records but I just smile and explain my Uber long name. Women (in my experience) are cool with being referred to as Mrs. Husband's name but legally add his behind their maiden and their children are given his last name first and hers hyphenated at the end. Traditionally, the son's keep it, the daughters drop it when they get married.

Just long standing tradition.
In their case, nothing to do with being defiant or not loving America with their hearts and souls 😀

Within the hispanic community, I find that hyphenation tends to occur more with mexican nationals, especially with the gueras that appear to have spanish blood. Mexico is a very diverse country (kinda like the United States), where each state has it's own unique dialect and identity. For example, people from Monterrey have their own slang, dialect, and terminologies that confuse me sometimes. It's a little different with hispanics/latinos, where it appears to be common practice to have two last names. To be more specific, I think those that were born here with hyphenated names, where it's not common practice, tend to be more difficult.

 

[HatInTheCat]

Patients who only come when in “pain” and have an “allergy” to ibuprofen but specifically request Percocet -___-

 

[anonymousdent]

if they say "You should be paying me"

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

Within the hispanic community, I find that hyphenation tends to occur more with mexican nationals, especially with the gueras that appear to have spanish blood. Mexico is a very diverse country (kinda like the United States), where each state has it's own unique dialect and identity. For example, people from Monterrey have their own slang, dialect, and terminologies that confuse me sometimes. It's a little different with hispanics/latinos, where it appears to be common practice to have two last names. To be more specific, I think those that were born here with hyphenated names, where it's not common practice, tend to be more difficult.

My family is from all over the place in Mexico so I can totally relate. However, we grew up in a 98% Hispanic community and there we get a lot of people who tack on the name too. We may be a little bit of a unique situation, so I see where you're coming from! Good to know your thoughts!
😀

 

[nbde4dds]

Patients who only come when in “pain” and have an “allergy” to ibuprofen but specifically request Percocet -___-

I understand Percocet but what if they want Tylenol #3 because they say they are allergic to Ibuprofen?

 

[yappy]

People who are confrontational for no reason.

 

[TanMan]

I understand Percocet but what if they want Tylenol #3 because they say they are allergic to Ibuprofen?

Tylenol #3 is horrendously ineffective for dental pain. If the pain was that bad, it's either tramadol/APAP or hydrocodone/APAP.

 

[dentistrydmd]

Patients who only come when in “pain” and have an “allergy” to ibuprofen but specifically request Percocet -___-

I had one who said he was very allergic to Tylenol but needed Percocet lol

 

[2TH MVR]

When a new patient bad-mouths their previous dentist or hygienist. Automatic red flag. Was it the dentist or was it themselves? Nobody wants to point the blame on themselves. I've noticed these "subset" of patients tend to be the most pain the ass patients to deal with.

Agree.
Hope everyone here abides by the oath not to disparage your fellow colleagues. You do not know the exact circumstances of the situation. Upset patients will always paint a biased opinion on what happened.

I remember seeing an ortho patient for a 2nd opinion. Pt had braces. Dad was obviously upset and somewhat demanding. The pt's dad verbalized to me that he was looking into seeking legal advice. The minute I heard "legal advice" .... I told the dad I would not offer any opinion on the PAST diagnosis or tx. I would be HAPPY to discuss tx necessary going FORWARD. Pt's dad was pissed. Left my office probably looking for another ortho to find who would disparage his ortho.

Point is. Anytime I hear ..."LEGAL ADVICE", MALPRACTICE,etc. from a NEW or TRANSFER patient. I'm done with that patient and will refuse to have my name in the paper trail.

 

[OMSDoc]

I agree the most about patients who disparage previous practitioners. They will do the same with you.

If they mention legal action against their former practitioner, they are sizing you up. I will usually tell them, "I think you have had excellent care, and I would be willing to go to any court in the state and testify to that."

Then I write in my note that I said that, putting what the patient says in quotes.

And I always keep my word.

 

[Cold Front]

The red flags for me:

1. “I have seen so many dentists in the last year!”. A sign of a very difficult and hard to satisfy patient.
2. “I need you to write me something that will stop this pain, but not for X, Y, Z meds!”. A sign of shopping for narcotics.
3. “You are not listening to me... you don’t understand me!... I don’t believe in this treatment”. Paranoid patient and on the edge.
4. “I have to pick up my kids soon... or have to be at work in an hour!”. Patient trying to control the schedule and treatment time.
5. “Can you give a discount on my treatment... I don’t have all the money today”. Patient who is trying to mold the treatment cost to their budget.
6. “What is that in your hand? I have never seen that before. I can’t do this!”. Patient who should be under general anesthesia due to high anxiety. Refer them out!
7. “Your receptionist has an attitude! Your assistant is unprofessional! Your hygienist didn’t do a good job”. Expect a bad Google or Yelp review.
8. “My tooth looked better than that before you touched it! I don’t like my smile now!”. Expect that patient to leave the office, or complain to the dental board - even though you did everything possible right.
9. “Are you the owner?”. This is usually a complaint. And if you are not the owner, that patient will be transferred to the owner.
10. And finally... “Can I talk to you in private?”. Patient may want to talk about anything that has nothing to do with their treatment, and just wanted to meet you for other reasons.