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Clear guidelines are one thing; motivating patients over the long term is the real challenge.
Positive psychology and motivational interviewing (MINT – a counselling approach that helps people find the motivation to make a positive behaviour change) are playing a growing role in oral health coaching, and their importance is only just starting to be realised. Here are five essential tips to engage your patients in their own oral health.
What is the intrinsic motivation for change? By asking the patient questions regarding their own desires and motivations, the dental professional acts as an interviewer. What are the disadvantages of the status quo? Or the advantages of change? A question like, “When have you made a significant change in your life?” creates optimism. MINT basically acts as a brief counselling session during which the dental professional uses conversation to actively listen and reflect thoughts back to the patient.
MINT is a useful technique for those patients who are resistant to change. They usually want to, but often they are not ready yet. During conversation, the dental professional mirrors the patient’s thoughts back to evoke and confirm their intrinsic motivation. Patients may have built up pressure and frustration around making positive decisions. As a coach, you can take the pressure off by resolving ambivalence and strengthen patients in their decision to tap into their own resources.
A short reminder: focus on the patient, not on your own beliefs. A conversation during which you give your undivided attention can in itself be healing. If a dental practice or clinic has an open and trusting atmosphere, dental professionals and patients can establish a relationship that fosters growth, whatever the motivation for doing so may be.
By respecting and looking up to people, people will respect and look up to themselves. Deep down, patients often know what is best for them when it comes to healthy habits, but they lack the positive self-image or confidence to pursue change. Shift your focus from the causes and symptoms towards the patient’s own positive psychological traits, behaviours or thought patterns. These qualities are inherently present. When tapped into in a context of positive behavioural change, they can sustain good oral health over the long term.
MINT establishes a different relationship with patients from the start. Whereas regular health interventions follow a fixed pathway that focuses on providing information, MINT aims to develop an equal relationship where the practitioner is not the expert, but a peer. The practitioner takes a backseat and nudges the patient’s internal problem solving. During the process, patients will start to look more inwards towards their own understanding and skills.
