Overcoming Fear of Dental Visits

For some people going to a dentist’s office is not a trip they look up to. Anxiety, fear and overall apprehension prevent some patients from keeping appointments. This in turn negatively affects their oral health.

Dental phobia comes from a myriad of sources. Pain associated with anesthetic injections, drilling and tooth extractions make people avoid making appointments to the local dentist. Some sights, sounds and smells in a dentist office can evoke negative memories of past experiences.

 For other patients being strapped to a chair triggers feelings of being helpless. Lying down numb, not being able to move or talk control as dentists hover above them with needles can be nerve wrecking. In other instances dental phobia comes from posttraumatic stress (PTS), a history of drug and substance abuse especially injectables. Another class of patients that suffer from dental phobia include victims of violence including both domestic and childhood sexual abuse.

Ways of Overcoming Dental Phobia

Accepting that you have a fear:  The first step of overcoming any fear is recognition and acknowledgement. No matter how macho or brave you think you are, without first accepting you have a fear you’ll be in a state of denial. Understanding that it is pretty normal to have feelings of nervousness and anxiety goes a long way in overcoming dental phobia. Try and note down all the possible fears, identify the ones that give you the most fear and try and work on them from there.

Reducing your Fears:  The next step after identifying the problem is trying to work on your fears. Try relation techniques like taking huge breaths and letting them out slowly. This technique helps relax your muscles and heart rate reducing anxiety. Familiarize yourself with your most feared items like needles in a slow and controlled manner.   If possible try and get someone you trust to take you to your local dentist place.

Finding the right dentist:  In the ancient ear of dentistry, not much effort was placed on patient hygiene or care. Use of brutal tools and techniques mixed with limited knowledge caused a lot of pain for patients. Unfortunately even with modern technologies and techniques not all doctors take all the necessary effort to ensure that patients feel at ease as they should.

Dental treatments have improved over the years incorporating methods that reduce pain while reducing anxiety and fear. When you visit your local dentist as a patient it is important to ensure that they are the right fit.  During consultation ask your dentist all possible questions that you may have. It doesn’t matter if you think they are ridiculous. It is important to have a dentist that will set you in a relaxed state of mind before any procedure takes place.  

Find a dentist that will work with you as a partner through all the steps of treatment. This includes choosing the best sedative from local anesthetic, oral sedatives, intravenous sedatives or nitrous oxide.  A patient and listening dentist should have a cool and warm atmosphere and surroundings to set you at ease.

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