Feeling nervous when you visit the dentist is a common experience, and an estimated 60% of people feel some degree of anxiety when seeing a dentist. It even affects people who look after their dental health in Newcastle carefully. Some people have a far more severe dental phobia that can prevent them from seeing a dentist regularly, which is estimated to affect around 16% of people. Our West Bowmanville Family Dental dental team knows that some people struggle to come and see us, and we strive to help patients overcome these feelings.
Most dental problems are preventable with regular checkups and oral hygiene appointments. When you come and see your dentist regularly, it gives us a chance to spot any early signs of gum disease, tooth decay, and other potential problems before they become more serious. Regular preventive dental care can help you avoid discomfort and the need for more extensive corrective and restorative treatment in the future.
If you feel anxious about seeing a dentist, we’ve listed a few easy tips below to help calm your nerves.
Talk to Us
Talking to us is probably the most important tip we can give you, as when we know you feel nervous about your appointment, we can tailor your visit accordingly. Our dental team is kind, compassionate and caring, and we will go out of our way to ensure you feel less relaxed and comfortable as possible. We can discuss why you feel this way and strategies to help you, and if you need dental treatment in Bowmanville, we will ensure it is structured so you can receive it more easily.
Prearranged Signals
One common fear amongst patients is losing the ability to communicate during treatment and that feeling of a loss of control. We can help you overcome this easily by having a prearranged hand signal, such as just raising your hand during treatment, so we know to stop immediately. We will also check on you frequently to ensure you are comfortable continuing or would prefer to take a break. Knowing you are in control can help considerably to calm nerves.
Using Distractions
Our comfortable treatment rooms have large screen TVs so you can find something nice to watch while you receive treatment. Otherwise, another strategy is to bring headphones with you and listen to your own music.
Practice Relaxation Techniques
Some people find it helpful to practice breathing exercises before their appointment. These can help lower the heart rate and make you feel more relaxed. Another technique is progressive muscle relaxation, where you tense and relax individual muscles for a few seconds each time. Using this technique can take a bit of practice, but it can be very effective.
Dental Sedation
We also offer sedation dentistry in Clarington that can be tailored to ensure you feel comfortable and relaxed during your treatment. Sedation dentistry is safe and effective and can be extremely useful for anyone with deep-seated dental fears and phobias or who requires lengthier treatment to restore dental health. We offer a choice of solutions, including Nitrous oxide or laughing gas, oral conscious sedation, and intravenous conscious sedation in Courtice. Nitrous oxide is inhaled through a small mask that fits over your nose and will almost immediately help you feel calmer. Oral sedation is given as a pill you take shortly before your appointment so that it will already have taken effect when you sit in the dental chair. If required, we can enhance this by combining oral sedation with nitrous oxide. Intravenous sedation is more powerful, and is sometimes called twilight or sleep dentistry, although you will still be conscious during treatment and able to respond to our team.
