The Importance of Recognizing Trauma
Throughout this lecture, we learned about trauma informed care and how important it is to provide this care. It was also made clear what trauma may look like in a patient. I personally recognized a lot of these characteristics from my patients in the past and from people in my family who have dental anxiety.
Trauma informed care is insightful and a good way to make patients feel more comfortable. Trauma informed care is an approach that assumes that an individual is more likely than not to have a history of trauma. I think this approach is really smart because we treat all patients like they have a transmittable disease with PPE, sterilization, barriers, and disinfectant. We should also treat all patients like they have had a traumatizing experience before. It also makes sense to this because of the prevalence of trauma in individuals. In the United States, over 70% of people have had a traumatizing experience. Trauma informed care requires that all the staff recognize the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role trauma may play in an individual’s life. I think this is important because all employees should be aware of this approach in a dental office to make this work. The front desk employees, dentist, dental assistants, and dental hygienists have to help recognize signs and create an atmosphere where patients are comfortable. It will not work if only one employee is providing patients with this approach. It has to be a team effort.
There are many signs that let dental workers know that a patient may have been traumatized. I have seen a lot of these signs in past patients and in family members who have dental anxiety. Some of these signs are sweating, high blood pressure, irritableness, shaking, and hyperventilation. Trauma can affect a person’s mood and health. Some of the signs are fear, guilt, anger, denial, depression, sleep disorders, mood disorders, and substance abuse. I have seen fear, anger, nervousness, and high blood pressure in my past patients who have said they have dental anxiety. Some of my family members dread going to the dentist and have left many dental homes because of the way they were treated. They left because they felt the dental team was not empathetic and shamed them because of their dental health. This is why I think it is important to show empathy and grace to patients who have trauma and dental anxiety.
Trauma informed care is an approach that all dental professionals should take to ensure patients are comfortable and are able to receive care. It is important to keep this group continuing their dental care with good experiences at the dental office and empathy.
