Last Updated on August 8, 2024 by Anna Baumann

Dental Office Drama

If you’ve ever worked in a dental office, you know what I mean by dental office drama. In some offices it feels like a living, breathing presence. Right up there with the playground and the high school cafeteria.

It’s a shame because it can make for some long and stressful days. It’s a rare treat to find a drama-free office. My happiest working years were spent in a tiny one doctor, general practice. I worked there for twelve years and we had almost zero drama. Those people were like family to me. Some of them still are! We weren’t perfect and we had our disagreements. But we genuinely cared about our jobs, and about each other. So I’m here today to tell you that although dental office drama is common, it’s not impossible to squash it!

What Causes Dental Office Drama?

Boredom

Even if you’re not a Hygienist doing one of the most repetitious jobs on the planet, dental office life can be pretty tedious. We spend our days following a set schedule, and all of our jobs revolve around the same five or six procedures. From the back clinic to the front desk, every task has a system or protocol we have to follow. Over and over again. Every. Single. Day.

When you’re just starting out, you don’t notice it. But after 5 or 10 years I guarantee you, even your Dentists are looking for ways to amuse themselves.

Sadly not everyone’s idea of amusement is positive. Some people entertain themselves by pitting people against each other and stirring the sh– in the office. All because they need a little excitement to break up their day. Not cool.

Hygienists vs Assistants

They don’t always see eye-to-eye. Some (not all) Hygienists believe that the Dentist’s Assistants are there to assist them. This can cause a lot of drama because it’s not always true.

Some offices don’t employ Hygiene Assistants. If they don’t, then Hygienists are on their own to Chart, place sealants, bag and sterilize their instruments, and turn over their rooms. Depending on how many years they’ve been working and how frustrated they are with their job, they might find ways to passive aggressively get Assistants to assist them. Things like; dropping instruments in the ultrasonic and never returning, or intentially running behind to create the illusion that they need help.

Some Hygienists will be insulted by this, and others will recognize themselves. But I’ve seen it and lived it in more than one office. It’s a shame and I always wish Hygienists and Assistants would learn to appreciate each other. Dental offices cannot run without Hygienists. But the exact same applies to Dental Assistants. Neither is more important than the other. The drama happens because they both forget that.

Small Spaces

Dental operatories are generally pretty small. And, unless it’s a corporate office’s main headquarters, there are probably less than 20 people working in any dental office anywhere.

So we’re in small spaces doing repetitive work in an even smaller space; the mouth! When you look at it that way, it’s not surprising that we get on each other’s nerves.

Female Focused

Of course, hormones come into play where dental office drama is concerned.

The majority of dental office staff members are female. If you work in a dental office right now, start counting. If you’ve worked in others before this, count your past coworkers. Female doctors, female staff. There’s A LOT of hormonally charged air flowing through there!

Meanness

This one isn’t specific to dental offices, but it’s still important to mention. I wholeheartedly believe that there is good in everyone. Being mean is not a condition, it’s a choice. 

But mean is mean no matter the reason for it; jealousy, insecurity, or an unhappy heart. Bullying, gossiping, button-pushing, freezing people out. It’s sad and scary how quickly this stuff gets out of hand.  

How to STOP Dental Office Drama

Umm, BE NICE!

Go back and read that again especially if:

1. You are the problem. Have a brutal, self-reflective, chat with yourself. Can you admit to instigating this behavior? Well, stop it! You’re getting paid to do a job. If something’s not working, approach your boss and fix it. In other words, behave like the grow-up that you are and do the job you’re paid to do. “Be a nice human.”
2. You are the practice owner or manager. It’s impossible to eliminate drama when it starts at the top. Lead by example. Squash negativity immediately. Be firm, but kind and give 100% to your job each day. “Leadership is not position or title, it is action and example.”

Communicate.

You’ve either witnessed the drama, or you’ve gotten complaints about it. DO NOT ignore it and hope it goes away! Find out exactly what you’re dealing with and fix it! Talk to everyone involved, together and separately. Get the facts. Air it out, make a plan to fix it, and put it to rest. 

These conversations are icky but they’re important! Sometimes people are going through things beyond their control that affect their moods and behavior. Maybe they have no idea how they’re coming off. Or maybe they do and they need your help. 

Your goals are peace, harmony, and teamwork. Once a plan is in place to solve the problem(s), be vigilant. Set a timeframe to check in and keep at it until things stay on the right track.

Have set protocols and use them.

My favorite takeaway from working in a corporate office was that we had a physical office manual that included clear disciplinary guidelines.

Every employee should know the rules when they first join the practice. Hopefully, things don’t get to this point. But people don’t change if they don’t want to. If you’ve already confronted them and they refuse to cooperate, they’ve given you no choice. 

• Verbal warning
• Written warning
• Fired

You might think that’s extreme, and you can think what you want. But if you let this get out of hand, I promise you’ll regret it. Firing people is the pits. But it’s better than having good people quit because you weren’t brave enough to end a bad situation when you should have.

“Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing, are the same.”