BE A BETTER LISTENER FOR SOMEONE Who Needs to ‘Get It All Out’
It’s not always easy to share feelings of frustration, anger,
position. While in this position, maintain eye contact. It’s okay to look down or away occasionally, but try to keep steady eye contact. Billikopf also notes that, as a listener, it’s important to avoid interjecting. Don’t offer input, suggestions, or guidance to the person venting until after the person has had the chance to get it all out.“During this venting process, there is still too much pressure for a person to consider other perspectives,” Billikopf says. While you don’t want to interject, you do want to be an active listener. This means you don’t want to be completely silent. This is where“reflective listening”comes in. Occasionally repeat what the speaker says — but don’t use their exact phrasing. Reword slightly in a sympathetic manner. Don’t spin their words or mistakenly interject an opinion, as it may not be the opinion they’re interested in hearing. Alternatively, listening cues like“mm”or“hm”and nods are always welcome. One last thing to keep in mind:You do not need to offer a solution to the person’s problem or concerns. They may just be venting to get their negative emotions out, not looking for answers or explanations. If they are looking for answers or guidance, wait for them to ask. In the meantime, lend your ear and let them know you’re there for them going forward.
sadness, or other strong emotions — but it’s healthy to share them. Sometimes, we need to vent and get it all out.Venting gives us an opportunity to release these emotions, which often leads to mental clarity.
However, when someone comes to you to vent and share their heavy emotional burden, listening can be just as challenging as sharing.You want to be supportive, but you don’t want to interfere. Strong feelings and tough situations may be involved. What can you do to be the listener they really need? It starts with your body language. Open yourself to their emotional needs. Gregorio Billikopf, an interpersonal relationship expert at the University of California, Berkeley says if you begin the conversation standing, invite the person to have a seat with you. Another thing you can do as a listener is position yourself below their eye line. This puts the person venting in a more active“storyteller”position and you in a better“listener”
Kalie and Cheyenne: A Word on Dental Health Deep-Cleaning and Laser Therapy
This month, we’d like to feature one of the many services we offer at Elkins Dental: laser therapy. Our team uses laser therapy for our scaling and root planing (SRP) patients who are suffering from periodontal or gum disease. Laser therapy is used after a deep-cleaning to stimulate gum healing. The laser itself goes underneath the gum line, killing harmful bacteria and improving the tissue’s healing process. In addition to recommending this for our SRP patients, we also recommend the treatment for patients who haven’t had a routine cleaning for several years, who’ve never had a deep-cleaning, or who have persistent problem areas in their mouth. Laser therapy is especially beneficial for any individual who is suffering from bone loss, has deep pockets in the gums, or has excess buildup in the gum lines. Before we decide laser therapy is the appropriate treatment, our team will first perform a thorough exam. Once we confirm that a patient needs a deep-cleaning and laser therapy, we will schedule
an appointment. Deep-cleaning and laser therapy are both one-time treatments of the entire mouth, wherever the patient needs it most.
-Kalie and Caryn Often, within those six weeks, we see a drastic improvement for our patients. Our team is always so excited to see these smiles and humbled to hear how much we have helped our community. If you think a deep-cleaning and laser therapy can help you, call our office to schedule an examination today. – Kalie and Cheyenne Afterward, we schedule a follow-up appointment in six weeks to check in and assess how the patient is healing. From there, the patient will enter into a maintenance schedule, which means they will be coming into our office a little more regularly than a normal cleaning would require. We want to make sure there are no drastic changes in their oral health while recovering.
2 | Elkins Dental
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