In last week’s Monday Morning Email we uncovered the ‘8 things’ you should never say to a patient & over the next 8 Mondays we will dig into each one in a little more depth starting with – “This will not hurt at all, even a little bit.”

As a practice owner & clinician you of course want to put your patient at ease and avoid inflicting any unnecessary pain. But promising no pain is may at times be an outright lie and a bad habit of practice leading the patient to feel at ease when the opposite is about to occur. The reality is that many procedures & some techniques do hurt or at least cause some discomfort, so it’s important for you to be upfront and honest with your patients if you want to build a good rapport with them.

Instead of falsely reassuring your patient, try saying something more straightforward, like “This will hurt a little, but don’t worry, I’ll try to do it as quickly as possible” or “This might be a bit uncomfortable, but it’ll be over before you know it.” Your patient will appreciate your sincerity.