In today’s dental hygiene landscape, technical skill is just the beginning. What truly sets clinicians apart is the ability to build trust, defuse anxiety, and motivate lasting change, all while delivering high-quality care under time constraints. These aren’t skills you can measure with a scaler or see on an x-ray. They’re soft skills: empathy, active listening, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. And while they’re often learned on the job, they’re essential to both clinical success and patient satisfaction.
Across the country, seasoned hygienists are redefining what chairside care looks like and proving that how you connect with a patient can be just as important as what you do during the appointment. Inside Dental Hygiene spoke with several respected voices in dental hygiene to explore how soft skills influence everything from case acceptance to career growth. Their stories reveal that small gestures, thoughtful communication, and human-centered care have the power to change not just appointments, but lives.
TRUST FIRST: WHY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK
For Kelly Tanner, PhD, RDH, soft skills are not ancillary to dental hygiene, they’re foundational. A clinician, educator, and leadership coach, Tanner has spent over two decades empowering hygienists through education, mentorship, and hands-on patient care. In addition to her clinical and academic work, she is the founder of Next Level Dental Hygiene, a professional development platform offering coaching, continuing education, and leadership training tailored specifically for hygienists.
Tanner’s passion for oral health started early, long before she held a scaler. “When I was in third or fourth grade, I’d always save my apple for last at lunch,” she recalls. “I believed it would help clean my teeth.” It might have seemed quirky to her classmates, but even as a child, Tanner intuitively grasped the connection between small habits and long-term oral health. That early sense of purpose has only deepened over the years.
Reflecting on what makes for a truly great dental experience, Tanner doesn’t start with technology or technique. She starts with trust. “When we think about a great experience we’ve had with any provider,” she says, “it often comes back to chairside manner, how they connected with your concerns, how you felt heard and understood. Chairside manner is really the DNA of the connection.”
Emotional intelligence, Tanner emphasizes, is central to that connection. “Everyone in dentistry can benefit from a higher EQ,” she says. “That means self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation, and motivation. Those are the things that help you read patients, adjust in real time, and meet people where they are.”
Tanner is a strong advocate for listening to understand, not just to respond. She points out that hygienists often operate under time constraints, juggling assessments, education, and care delivery in quick succession. But connection can’t be rushed. “It’s better to be interested than interesting,” she says. “We often focus on what we need to say to the patient, but the most powerful moments happen when we simply pause and listen. There’s power in the pause.”
That power showed up recently in her own operatory. A patient with no apparent anxiety at the start of the appointment suddenly became tense and reactive midway through. “All of a sudden, she was asking about the taste of the floss, the grit. Her body was reacting,” Tanner recalls. “So I stopped and asked, ‘Are you OK? Do you need a minute?’ She admitted she was thinking about a stressful experience with her mother. It had nothing to do with the appointment itself. But that emotional trigger changed her whole physiology. You must be prepared to pivot.”
This level of attunement, Tanner explains, builds patient trust, especially when navigating sensitive topics like smoking cessation or inadequate home care. Motivational interviewing, a technique she regularly employs, is key. “I’ll say, ‘I know you said you want to quit smoking. What have you tried before? What’s important to you right now?’ Then I stop talking. You let them lead.”
Rather than issuing lectures or judgments, Tanner recommends linking clinical findings to the patient’s personal values and medical history. “We only get about two hours a year with most patients,” she notes. “So, if they’ve shared that their mom is sick or they’re training for a marathon, I tie oral health back to those priorities. When they see the relevance, they’re more open to change.”
Soft skills, she adds, aren’t just for patients, they’re vital within the team as well. Whether it’s clarifying expectations with a dentist or resolving friction with colleagues, effective communication underpins a high-functioning practice. “The patient can feel when the team isn’t aligned,” Tanner says. “Good old-fashioned team meetings and honest conversations can shift the culture of an entire office.”
For new graduates, Tanner’s advice is simple but profound: have confidence, and don’t underestimate the ripple effect of even small interactions. “You may not change someone’s whole life in one visit, but a single suggestion might help them change one habit. And that matters.”
Ultimately, Tanner believes that placing the patient at the center of care—emotionally as well as clinically—is what sets exceptional hygienists apart. “Some days, what the patient really needs isn’t for you to polish their teeth,” she says. “It’s for you to connect with them. That’s what brings them back. That’s what builds trust.”
Compassion Over Correction: Changing Behavior Through Connection
For Idaho-based hygienist and educator Brandi Hooker Evans, RDH-ER, MHE, connecting with patients isn’t just a nicety, it’s a clinical necessity. “Our population is on fire with inflammation,” she says. “If we keep doing what we’ve always done—teaching brushing and flossing like it’s 1950—we’re going to keep getting the same disappointing results.”
Evans, who still sees patients in addition to running her consulting company, Stellar Outcomes, is passionate about equipping dental professionals with the soft skills they need to support real health improvements. That means teaching patients to take ownership of their oral health, starting with assessment. “I don’t do case presentations anymore,” she explains. “By the time we’re done with the assessment, the patient already knows they have disease. They’re asking me what we can do about it.”
One of Evans’ key strategies is getting patients actively involved in their diagnostics. She teaches them to read their own x-rays and perio charts. “I keep it simple,” she says. “That thick white line of enamel should go up, over, and down between the teeth. When they see it get fuzzy or the periodontal ligament pull away from a bleeding site, they understand there’s a problem, and that understanding leads to buy-in.”
These conversations are never about shame or scolding. “Our patients aren’t in trouble,” Evans emphasizes. “We’re not there to lecture, we’re there to inform, with compassion.” That balance between frankness and kindness is at the heart of effective chairside communication. “Soft skills aren’t fluff,” she says. “They’re how we help patients feel safe enough to change.”
Take, for example, a long-term smoker in Evans’ care. Rather than pressuring her to quit, Evans invited her to look at her x-rays and perio chart. “She had advanced periodontal disease, but once she saw the bone loss for herself, it clicked,” Evans recalls. “From that point forward, she was dedicated to every recare visit, every treatment. She brought a mirror so she could watch me probe and wanted to track her healing.” Over time, the patient voluntarily cut her cigarette use nearly in half, not because of guilt, but because she felt empowered.
Evans believes that when patients are treated as partners in their care, the impact extends far beyond the operatory. “When someone feels respected and equipped, they go home and make different decisions,” she says. “I’ve seen patients who never took my advice suddenly stop at the store to buy that power toothbrush we’ve been recommending for years—because this time, they understand why.”
To support those changes, Evans encourages dental professionals to expand their conversations beyond oral hygiene. “If we’re only talking about brushing and flossing, we’re missing the bigger picture,” she says. “A 10-minute walk after dinner, better sleep, adding nutrient-dense foods—all of these impact oral health.”
One of her favorite tools is a deceptively simple challenge she calls “Find the Veggie.” The rules? Add something that was recently a plant to every meal or snack. “It gets people thinking about nourishment instead of restriction,” Evans says. “Even if they’re eating a standard American diet, those extra servings of produce can help reduce inflammation and support healing.”
Evans sees this approach as a win not just for patients, but for hygienists and dental teams too. “When you guide people to make their own discoveries, you don’t have to be the bad guy,” she says. “You don’t feel like you’re hitting a wall appointment after appointment. Instead, you’re collaborating, and that’s where the joy comes back into your work.”
Her advice to hygienists? Let go of perfection, lean into connection, and trust that patients are capable of more than we often assume. “The goal is health,” Evans says. “But the side benefit is that your patients don’t just like you—they trust you. And when that trust is there, everything changes.”
Micro-Moments, Macro Impact: The New Language of Chairside Care
For Melissa K. Turner, CHO, BASDH, RDHEP, EFDA, soft skills are more than communication tools, they’re catalysts for transformation, both in patients and in careers. A seasoned clinician, educator, and influential voice in the dental industry, Turner brings two decades of operatory experience and a deep passion for innovation to her work. In addition to practicing hygiene, she consults with dental brands and organizations as a fractional executive and serves as a founding board member of the American Mobile & Teledentistry Alliance, among other leadership roles. But whether she’s chairing a conference or scaling a molar, Turner’s philosophy remains grounded in one belief: relationships build results.
“Chairside manner has evolved tremendously over my 20-plus years in the industry,” Turner reflects. “Early on, it meant being a good host and educating patients about the procedures. But now, I see it as building a partnership, one grounded in trust and respect, so that patients take ownership of their oral and total-body health.”
That partnership begins, Turner says, with presence. “Effective communication is key,” Turner notes, “but even more important is how you show up. Active listening, empathy, motivational interviewing—these are learned techniques. They take practice, especially in a fast-paced setting.” Turner is currently earning a certification in microexpressions, which she believes can take patient-provider connection to a deeper level.
“Facial expressions are universal symbols of emotions,” Turner explains. “Microexpressions occur at 1/25th of a second and can reveal a patient’s true feelings, even when they’re trying to hide them.” For example, a patient who claims to floss might flash a momentary expression of fear or frustration. “Fear may occur if they expect to be scolded, and anger might surface if they’re upset with themselves for not doing more,” she says. “If we can spot these micro-moments, we can adjust how we respond—and that can completely change the outcome of the visit.”
This ability to read emotional cues, Turner says, isn’t just good practice—it’s good for your career. Early in her own journey, she landed a permanent job while filling in for a hygienist on maternity leave. “The practice owner told me I had won her over in my first week,” she recalls. “Her most difficult patient had been on my schedule, and after that visit, the patient requested to see only me moving forward. That experience taught me how powerful chairside manner can be—not just for patient outcomes, but for professional opportunities.”
Turner also brings that same nuanced approach to delicate health conversations, particularly when addressing habits like smoking or reluctance to floss. “Patients walk in expecting to be judged,” she says. “So, I flip the script. If someone tells me they don’t floss, I might say, ‘I don’t floss either!’ It disarms them and opens the door to talking about other types of interdental cleaning. With smokers, I’ll ask about their favorite brand—get curious instead of critical. Once they feel safe, we can talk about harm reduction or incremental change.”
This human-first philosophy carries across patient types, including the youngest and most anxious. With children, Turner removes her mask, lowers herself to eye level, and invites them into the process. “I’ll let them hold the air-water syringe or help me with their sibling’s appointment,” she says. “Giving them control builds trust fast. The same goes for adults. If someone’s nervous during x-rays, I’ll let them place the sensor themselves.”
Even in a time-crunched clinical environment, Turner believes small acts of presence make a big difference. “Some days, I have only two minutes of true connection before the suction goes on,” she says. “But in those two minutes, I put my phone away, make eye contact, and focus. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
She also equips patients with tools that give them more agency, like the Synapse Pain Eraser, a handheld device that blocks pain signals using electrical stimulation. “I show them how to use it and let them keep it for home care,” Turner explains. “Knowing they can control their own comfort changes their entire experience.”
For hygienists still building confidence, Turner offers this reassurance: “Give yourself grace. This work is mentally and physically exhausting. But with each patient interaction, you’re gaining wisdom. Different practices and patients have different vibes—find where you fit. And when in doubt, just focus on the human in front of you.”
Rooted in Connection: the Future of Hygiene is Human
Soft skills are often invisible, but their impact is anything but. As these experts reveal, empathy, presence, and communication are not secondary to clinical excellence; they’re foundational to it. Patients often remember how hygienists made them feel long after they forget the details of their treatment. When hygienists take the time to pause, listen, and meet patients where they are, they unlock something powerful: trust.
In a fast-paced operatory, even a moment of authentic connection can shift the tone of a visit, or the trajectory of someone’s health. Whether it’s tuning in to a microexpression, inviting a child to “help” during a procedure, or opening a dialogue about flossing without judgment, the heart of hygiene lies in human understanding.
For dental hygienists who want to stay at the top of their game, the message is clear: Clinical skills will always matter, but it’s the soft skills that will set you apart. They’ll shape your relationships, your reputation, and ultimately, your results. That’s because the core of every successful appointment isn’t just a clean smile, it’s a connection. At a time when many professionals are concerned about artificial intelligence replacing human roles, soft skills and genuine chairside manner are powerful reminders of the irreplaceable value of the human connection.
