Dental Anxiety



Dental anxiety or fear of the dentist is a major stumbling block for many people. It usually prevents otherwise intelligent, rational people from optimizing and maintaining their dental health.

The key to good oral health is prevention-stopping problems before they arise. Unfortunately, people who suffer from dental anxiety often fail to visit the dentist for routine care. When they finally do go, often a small preventable problem has turned into a problem which requires major intervention.

Most dental phobics have had very negative experiences with either unskilled, uncaring, or incompetent dentists.

The most important step to overcoming dental anxiety is finding a good dentist. A good dentist is one who:

Is patient
Is highly competent
Strives to make each meeting comfortable for you
Genuinely cares about you
Has the ability to nurture you through past traumas

Steps to finding a good dentist:

Ask friends and family who they recommend
Feel free to ask any potential dentist about their practice, practice philosophy, and the steps they take to make dentistry pain free and anxiety free.

Do not be intimidated. You are the consumer and it is the dentist who should be selling you on his or her service.

It takes a true partnership between the patient and the dentist, a growing trust, and a growing relationship that cannot nor should not be pushed faster than the patient can accept.

Coming in for just a consultation for your first appointment is a great way to get to meet the dentist, take a look at the office and their staff, and decide if the environment, dentist and staff, make you feel comfortable. This consultation appointment can be used not only to meet the doctor, but also to explain your anxiety, find out how the doctor approaches treatment, by having them explain everything clearly and also talk to them about ways they make the patients more comfortable.

At our office we have a friendly staff, which is like family, and we offer more comfortable ways to fill a cavity by using our new laser. We address any concerns that our patients have before treatment on how things will be performed in detail. This helps to make our patients a lot more comfortable in our office. There is no pressure to get treatment done, unless prolonging the treatment will have a more negative effect, such as a toothache, where an abscess can do more harm to the body.

Some things you can do to help ease your way through a dental visit:

Bring in a friend or loved one to sit with you.
Try not to schedule an appointment during a stressful time. For example, don’t schedule an appointment before a major business meeting or in the middle of the day if you know you have several tasks to do after the appointment.
Bring in an ipod or portable cd player with headphones with some relaxing music you enjoy.

If your dentist is unwilling to discuss your anxiety or try things to help reduce your anxiety it is time to get a new dentist.

Remember: An educated consumer is a less anxious consumer.

Make sure your dentist explains each and every procedure you undergo. Good dentists usually have videos, pamphlets, or books explaining the procedures they perform. A good dentist will answer the questions you have thus lessoning your anxiety.

With a good dentist-patient relationship and with good communication, dental anxiety can be overcome. You should feel comfortable discussing your anxieties with your dentist and should be confident that he or she will do everything possible to reduce your anxiety. If not find a new dentist who is willing to do what is takes to help you overcome your anxiety.