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Dental hygienists must understand the basic concepts of human motivation before they can help patients achieve their goals.
Every day, dental hygienists are in a position to help patients improve their oral and systemic health. The success of these professionals, and the health of their patients, is based on the hygienist's knowledge and skills regarding patient motivation and education. It is essential that hygienists understand basic motivational theories and concepts to determine which approach will be successful for each patient.
As members of a helping profession, dental hygienists deal with compliance issues to help patients achieve optimal oral and systemic health. To obtain compliance, existing behaviors must be altered. Whether hygienists want compliance in the area of oral health, weight loss, tobacco cessation, or high blood pressure reduction, they must understand the basic concepts of human motivation before they can help patients achieve their goals. This article discusses types of motivation, theories and components of motivation, and motivational concepts. It provides a better understanding of human behavior, and enough information regarding these topics to help hygienists gain a higher level of patient motivation and compliance.
According to Franken (2002), there are two types of motivation: avoidant and approach. The avoidant type causes people to choose certain behaviors in order to avoid something. In contrast, the approach type causes people to be driven by want or need. For example, if a person wants to lose weight, he or she may choose the avoidance approach by avoiding desserts. The person realizes avoiding high calorie foods can result in weight loss. However, in the approach method of motivation, the individual may choose to exercise more, realizing that burning extra calories will result in weight loss. People who are anxious are more likely to engage in avoidant behavior (Franken, 2002) and are typically introverts. Franken says that not all people are equally anxious. Some are anxious from birth. On the other hand, people who are less anxious tend to be more extroverted and seem to be driven by approach behaviors. People may use a combination of approach and avoidance to achieve the desired result.
Goals and rewards
Motivational psychologists have developed theories of...