Okay folks, you text while driving and cause accidents. Shouldn't you give your dear dentist and break and not be texting while in the dental chair? Just think of the mistakes you will make while breathing the "happy-air." Personally, I wouldn't want my dentist to miss anything with a pick and drill in his hands.
More than four out of five dentists surveyed by the Chicago
Dental Society revealed that patients send and receive text messages on
their cell phones while receiving dental care.
The survey
was conducted between July 16th and July 25th via email and among
dentists in the Chicago Dental Society's Facebook Fan Page.
In
addition to the dentists who said their patients regularly text in the
dental chair, 46 percent said this habit hampers their ability to
provide care. The high number of dental chair texters is also
surprising, given that 32 percent of the dentists indicated they have a
cell phone/mobile device policy posted in a visible location in their
office.
"We have signs up in the waiting room and directly
in front of where the patient sits stating that they need to turn off
their phones but most simply ignore them," said one respondent. Another
dentist indicated texting or answering calls can be a real barrier to
delivering care because "many times the patient sits up during
treatment to answer a call or text."
But not every dentist
views texting as a societal evil. Dr. Cissy Furusho, a pediatric
dentist in Chicago, said her young teen patients have mastered texting
to the point that they don't even have to look down at their phone
keyboard during treatment.
For those who must text or talk on their cell phone while in the dental chair, the Chicago Dental Society provides these tips:
- If a dentist has a written policy against texting, respect it. Doing so may be in the best interest of your oral health
- If no policy exists and you must text, ask the dentist if it will interfere with treatment.
- Arrange to have an agreed-upon signal with the dentist if you must respond to texts.
- Or,
keep temptation at bay and leave your phone with the receptionist for
safekeeping. Your messages will be there for you to reply to after your
appointment is over.
"This may surprise people, but
most of my younger patients are very polite about using their cell
phones in the chair," she said. "The kids never answer their phone
while getting treatment."
Even dentists who don't have a
stated policy against texting say it can still interfere with
communication between dentist and patient.
"It's more difficult to communicate with a patient about recommendations," one respondent wrote.
Niles,
Illinois dentist Dr. Alice Boghosian said that there is a time and
place for most things but texting or talking in the dental chair is a
breach of etiquette.
"I'm not militant about it because I
know that there are parents with kids in school who need to be in touch
with their kids at times," she said. "However, one young patient of
mine had to interrupt me when his phone was buzzing in his pocket." Dr.
Boghosian said she was also surprised when a member of the clergy kept
answering his phone even though he admitted the calls were not urgent.
"When patients insist on answering their phone or sending a text message, it does interrupt dental care," she said.