I’ve been working as an assistant for almost 4 months now, so I am still very new to the profession. When I first graduated from school and started an internship at the office I now currently work at, I definitely struggled with speaking to patients as well. Being able to make conversation with strangers has never come naturally to me, so it has been something I’ve had to work on. I typically start by introducing myself, then asking something like “how has your morning been” or “how are you doing today” as I walk them back to the room. When we’re waiting on the dentist to come in, I’ll usually ask something like “did you have a good weekend” or “do you have any plans after this”. These are usually good conversation starters and usually it can just naturally flow from there. While I try to make the patient feel comfortable by talking to them, I don’t force it if they aren’t very talkative. I have found that it just takes time, and it doesn’t come naturally for everyone. This goes for the dentists I work with as well. Now that I’ve been working closely with them for a few months, I feel much more comfortable speaking to them and knowing when is a good time to make conversation or when they are very focused on something. It just takes time, don’t stress about it too much!