A dentist treating an anxious patient asks: 'What is it about dental visits that makes you feel anxious?' This technique BEST exemplifies:

Correct answer: B. Open-ended questioning to build rapport and understand the patient

• A. Closed-ended questions (e.g., 'Are you afraid of needles? Yes or No') limit patient response. This question is open-ended, not closed-ended.
• B. Correct. Asking 'what is it that makes you anxious?' is an open-ended question — it invites the patient to elaborate freely rather than giving a yes/no response. This builds rapport, helps understand the specific fear, and is the recommended behavioral management approach for dental anxiety.
• C. Therapeutic reframing involves restructuring how the patient thinks about an experience; asking an open question to understand the fear is the first step before any reframing.
• D. Motivational interviewing is specifically used to address ambivalence about behavior change (e.g., smoking cessation, oral hygiene); anxiety management is a different context.