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How To Get Over Dental Anxiety

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Other Options To Deal With Dental Anxiety

Dental Health : How to Get Over Dental Anxiety

Dental Choice offers a variety of other options for coping with dental anxiety. These include the following.

  • Application of local sedatives: In addition to sedation dentistry, we use local sedatives to help reduce any discomfort you might experience during dental procedures.
  • Use of hand signals: We also understand part of dental anxiety stems from the fear of the unknown and feeling out of control. Hand signals can help. You can let the dentist know you need a break by raising your hand to signal a stop.
  • Explanation of each step: We will explain each step beforehand and along the way so you know what is going on and you maintain some degree of control over the pace of the procedure.
  • Use of a computer-assisted system for delivery of local anesthesia: We offer The Wand, a computer-assisted system for application of local anesthesia. Known as single-tooth anesthesia, it can freeze a single tooth. It provides dentists with guidance while they are conducting dental injections. Patients who experience this technology may find it offers more contained numbness and less pain in the area.

Discuss your dental anxiety concerns with us here at Dental Choice, and allow us to work with you to develop a treatment plan to help to put your fears to rest while allowing you to receive the dental care and treatment you need.

Loss Of Control & Fear Of The Unknown

Sitting back in a dental chair makes some people nervous and claustrophobic. Others have trouble getting comfortable because theyre not sure whats about to happen. Not knowing exactly what to expect and feeling out of control can be unnerving.

Dentist offices today take these fears into consideration and offer solutions. From amenities like eye masks, blankets, and headphones to help you relax to detailed explanations of exactly whats going on during your treatment. We can use a combination of things to help your visit be as comfortable as possible.

Ways Dentists Can Stop Dental Phobia And Anxiety

Dental anxiety is one of the most common reasons for people to avoid their dental check-up. The problem is, while youre putting the dentist off, youre not avoiding them altogether. Research has shown that if you have dental anxiety, youre less likely to visit the dentist regularly, which puts you at higher risk of dental disease.

Once you don’t visit for long enough, dental diseases like tooth decay, gum disease, and even crooked teeth in children can progress beyond the point of fixing. That is, your dental phobia is having serious implications for your smile. People with dental anxiety often end up presenting when things are too late, or after theyve experienced extreme pain.

The good news is that dentists deal with people with dental anxiety every day in their clinics. In fact, dentistry has changed to make people with dental phobia feel better in their dental surgery.

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Certified And Experienced In Dealing With Dental Phobia

Another important way to overcome dental anxiety is to make sure you access the support thats available. These days, many dental surgeries offer a kind and caring approach to helping nervous patients, but at Pure Dental Health, we go the extra mile. We have friendly and sympathetic treatment advisors who are highly experienced in dealing with patients who are afraid of the dentist.

Whats more, our Principle dentist Mark Durnall is certified in dealing with dental phobia. So, its not just something we talk about in theory. Were proactive about our patients’ emotional wellbeing. We really are a dental practice that takes anxiety seriously, and we will provide the support you need whenever you come for a visit.

Do you count yourself as someone who has a particular problem with dental phobia? If necessary, we can offer conscious sedation. Thats a useful option for quick procedures where youd feel happier receiving medication that will make you relaxed and drowsy for a while, but not unconscious. We’ll monitor you throughout, and you’ll recover very quickly afterwards. It can be a big help.

You Can Overcome Dental Anxiety

How To Get Over Dental Phobia Marshall D.D.S

Never feel scared to visit the dentist again! Our guide has provided steps on how to get over dental anxiety the right way. And if you take our advice, you will be flashing your pearly whites in no time!

Sloan Creek Dental center can provide preventive care to their patients by making sure that they are removing plaque and excess tartar buildup every day. One way they do this is by scraping the teeth with a special instrument called a scaler or periodontal probe.

Did you find this information helpful? For more lifestyle and health-related content, make sure to explore the rest of our blog.

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Other Dental Anxiety Treatment Options: Sedation Dentistry

When someone needs urgent dental care to restore dental health, another treatment approach may be needed, such as sedation dentistry.

Dental sedation can be very useful for anyone feeling extremely fearful about seeing a dentist, whether they need a simple dental cleaning or a lengthier and more complicated treatment. For example, this option can be extremely helpful if you need wisdom teeth removed or would love to have dental implant surgery to restore missing teeth. In addition, some children and adults have more complex health needs and may find a dental practice overwhelming or cannot sit still to receive dental care.

Tandara Dental Centre can provide light sedation in the form of happy gas, a solution many people are already familiar with where nitrous oxide is inhaled during treatment. The gas induces feelings of relaxation and calm, but you will still be awake and able to communicate throughout the appointment. Alternatively, intravenous sedation provides a much deeper level of relaxation, so much so that you may fall asleep or will feel very drowsy. We can still awaken you if necessary. Sedation dentistry can be a useful option when a longer appointment is needed or allows our dentist to complete more treatment in a single visit.

How To Get Over Dental Anxiety 5 Simple Tips

by randwicksmiles | Dec 30, 2020 | Anxious Patients |

Does the mere thought of visiting your dentist make you feel nervous or anxious? Hopefully, reading this article will show you how to get over dental anxiety or fear thus allowing you to receive the treatment you need.

Firstly, its worth pointing out that youre not alone in experiencing dental anxiety. Many people are anxious about visiting the dentist even when theyve only ever had positive experiences. This is because anxiety is mostly the fear of a future event and worry that something might happen.

The most common dental fears and anxieties are based around:

  • Needles
  • Embarrassment about bad teeth and
  • Pain

With this in mind, were going to talk about How to Get Over Dental Anxiety using 5 simple tips to. Lets take a closer look.

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Dental Fear #4 Embarrassment About Bad Teeth

Your dentist deals with damaged teeth and gums every day. Theres a good chance theyve seen many people with worse dental problems than yours. So, relax. Its their job to help people prevent dental problems. But its also part of their job to deal with damaged teeth and help you get them as healthy as they can be.

You may like to call your dentist and let them know youre embarrassed about the state of your teeth but would like their help to fix them. This can help to break the ice. It also lets them know you have anxieties about it. You may find that knowing your dentist is already aware may help you feel more relaxed during your visit.

The Dental Industry Has Vastly Improved

How to get over dentist anxiety

In the past the dental industry has had an image of creating fear in people and was regarded as a very scary environment.

But in days gone by modern technology wasnt available, nor were good anaesthetics.

Knowledge and techniques have vastly improved and in this day and age dentistry is very accessible.

Theres lots of information about it, and lots of dentists are aware of dental anxieties and are very willing to give their time to help patients with problems.

Dentists are willing to talk to you about oral hygiene and give you advice.

Oral care products like toothpaste and toothbrushes are so much better in this day and age, and the medications available are also much better.

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What Causes Dental Anxiety

  • A traumatic dental experience or other healthcare experiences
  • Previous trauma to the head and neck
  • Other traumatic experiences, including abuse
  • Generalised anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder
  • The view that the mouth is a personal area and accessing the mouth is an invasion of personal space
  • Fear of loss of control
  • Trust issues
  • Anxiety associated with other conditions such as agoraphobia , claustrophobia or obsessive compulsive disorder, where there is an obsession around cleanliness that can make access to dental care more difficult

Remember: Modern Dentistry Is A World Away From The Old Days

One step toward overcoming your fears might be to consider where that dental phobia comes from in the first place. Are you like many people, who picked up in childhood the thought that the dentist was a scary place? The thing is, years ago, trips to the dentist were very different to now. Technology and equipment was far less sophisticated. Pain relief was nowhere near as effective. Staff awareness and training wasnt anything like today’s high standards. In fact, for our parents and grandparents, the whole experience of a trip to the dentist was understandably something people dreaded rather than looked forward to. No wonder many of us have grown up with real fears, even if we’ve never had a bad dental experience ourselves.

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What Are Dental Anxiety And Dental Phobia

Dental anxiety is when you have an uneasiness or worry about an upcoming dental appointment. But if youre panic-stricken or terrified at the thought of a dental cleaning or procedure, that could be a sign of dental phobia.

People with a dental phobia do everything possible to avoid going to the dentist perhaps only going when extreme pain forces them to. They know that this fear is irrational but are unable to do much to change it.

Other signs of dental phobia include:

  • Trouble sleeping the night before a dentist appointment.
  • Nervous feeling that get worse in the dentists waiting room.
  • Getting to the dentists office but being unable to enter.
  • Crying or being physically ill at the very thought of visiting the dentist.

If dental phobia keeps you from gong to the dentist, you might benefit from working with a behavioral health provider.

How Dental Choice Can Help You Manage Your Dental Anxiety

How to Get Over Your Fear of the Dentist

Dental Choice offers a variety of tools and services designed to ease anxiety and help you feel more comfortable throughout your visit. Not only are we willing to discuss your anxiety and work out a series of hand signals you can use to help ease your concerns, but we also offer sedation techniques to help ease your fears about treatment. Not all patients are suitable for sedation dentistry. We will help identify if one of our sedation methods is a suitable choice for you.

We offer the following three types of sedation dentistry for our adult patients:

  • Oral sedatives
  • Nitrous oxide, sometimes called laughing gas
  • IV sedation
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    Do You Need A New Dentist

    If you are looking for a new dentist, we at Mills River Family Dentist would love to be your choice. We offer many different services and are understanding of each persons individual dental needs. If you would like to set up an appointment or would like to learn more about how we can help you, feel free to reach out to us today.

    You Are Not Being Judged

    Many people have a fear of being judged and told off or shouted out by their dentists for not taking care of their mouth.

    But this is not how you should expect to be treated. Your dentist is a health professional who is there to try to help you keep your oral hygiene at its best.

    Its a dentists job to educate you about your oral hygiene and help you get your teeth into a better condition.

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    Lets Talk About Extreme Dental Anxiety

    If you are one of the 48 percent of Americans suffering from extreme dental anxiety, its no secret that a dental visit can be traumatic.

    And thats not even the worst news. Severe dental anxiety can influence a sufferers quality of life and oral health. About 73 percent of those surveyed with dental anxiety had difficulty even going to a dental treatment appointment, which has vast and terrible repercussions on your teeth and gums.

    How Dental Anxiety Or Phobia Can Affect Your Oral Health

    Here’s How You Can Overcome Dental Anxiety

    Avoiding the dentist can result in dental disease getting worse, a greater need for emergency care or more complex treatment. It can also feed the underlying problem of dental anxiety. This is known as the vicious cycle of dental anxiety.

    Regular dental check-ups, cleans and X-rays of the teeth can prevent dental disease and help the dentist find any problems early, so that simpler and less invasive treatments are needed. During regular check-ups, dentists also check for signs of mouth cancer, which is especially important for those who smoke or regularly drink alcohol, and even more so for those who do both. If you notice a mouth ulcer that lasts for longer than 2 weeks, get it checked by a dentist as soon as you can.

    Most dental disease is lifestyle-related and preventable. By avoiding going to the dentist, not only are you more likely to need more complex treatments when you do finally attend, but you are also missing out on learning how to better care for your oral health.

    The lifestyle factors that lead to dental disease are very similar to those that lead to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke and some cancers . So, taking care of your oral and general health and remembering to brush your teeth twice a day and floss once a day are very important.

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    Leaving It Can Make Things Worse

    Sometimes the fear of not actually seeking advice from your dentist ends up causing more of a problem and making your dental problem worse.

    For example, if youve lost a filling and youre too scared to go to the dentist and you leave it for longer and longer, your filling may then develop into a more serious problem than if you were to seek advice a little bit sooner and have a simple feeling done.

    Its easier to go and see the dentist sooner rather than later for a quick fix, instead of letting it develop into a bigger problem.

    Bad Experience In The Past

    Were sad to say it, but some dentists dont take the time and effort to provide the best possible experience for patients. If youve ever been to a dentist like this, you may feel scarred from the memory. Whether it was being pressured into a treatment you didnt want or not feeling welcome, these kind of experiences can make you distrustful.

    You deserve better.

    The good news is, there IS better out there. The trick is to find and work with an honest and trustworthy dentist who will treat you with respect and compassion. We will start with non-invasive, easy appointments so that we build a relationship based on trust and respect for your feelings.

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    Communicate Your Concerns To Your Dentist

    Dont hesitate to communicate your concerns to your dentist. They can take steps to make the process easier. They can explain each step from start to finish, so you know what to expect. They can also recommend techniques to help you relax and feel more comfortable at the appointment.

    Dont be afraid to ask questions. If you understand the procedure, you may feel less anxiety.

    Tips For Nervous Dental Patients How To Get Over Dental Anxiety

    How To Get Over Your Dental Fear

    Regularly attending the dentist is important not only to ensure proper oral health, but also in order to take preventative measure to avoid more serious health issues. Gum disease can lead to serious illnesses like stroke, heart disease, and diabetes, so its crucial to stay on top on your dental visits, even if your smile appears clean and healthy.

    Unfortunately, many patients fear of the dentist prevents them from seeking proper care. In fact, its been reported that nearly 20-25% of people fear the dentist, and as many as 1 in 10 people avoid the dentist altogether because of their phobia.

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    Fear Of The Dental Chair

    Are you afraid of visiting the dentist? Its possible that as many as twenty percent of Americans worry before an appointment, and many of them avoid regular check-ups due to extreme fear. Unlike phobias that dont need addressing, routine dental appointments are too vital to your health to skip.

    There are many reasons that you might fear the dentist. Perhaps you had a painful experience in the dental chair when you were young. Maybe your dental terror stems from

    • A fear that the dentist will cause you pain
    • Fear of shots and the thought that they might not work
    • Panic when you hear the sound of the drill
    • The nervousness of having someone working in your mouth
    • The embarrassment that you havent taken care of your teeth

    Whatever the root cause of your fear, the fact remains that your dental health is critical to your overall health.

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