Behaviour that creates doubt

Most dentists don’t realise how much trust they can lose through a small, well‑intentioned behaviour. It happens when you start worrying about being liked.

A patient sits in your chair with a mouth full of problems, and you begin thinking to yourself:

“If I tell them about everything they need, they won’t like me. Maybe I’ll just tell them about a few of the problems.”

That thought can cause you to shift into “likability mode.” You water down your treatment consultation. Patients can feel it.

A question appears in their mind:

“Are you telling me this because it’s true or because it’s what you think I want to hear?”

That moment of doubt is enough to weaken your authority.

Here’s the insight: Patients don’t need you to be their friend. They need you to be their trusted dental advisor. Someone who speaks clearly, and honestly, even if the message is uncomfortable.

And here’s the counter‑intuitive truth: When you stop trying to be liked and focus on earning trust, patients end up liking you anyway. It’s not because you chased their approval, but because you communicated with honesty and conviction.

The next time you feel yourself watering down your advice, ask yourself:

“If I were the patient, what would I want?”

Would you want a dentist who protects your feelings or a dentist who tells you the truth?

If you’d like to explore what that kind of communication looks like in practice, the deep dive on how to massively increase case acceptance is a good place to start — as is this short piece on being clear and unambiguous with patients.

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