Worried about seeing a dentist? Ways to make the entire process easier on your nerves
Does the thought of attending a dental check-up make you feel panicked? Have you had a bad experience in the past with dental teams?
While being one of the most common phobias, fear of seeing the dentist remains relatively hidden. Many patients who panic at the thought of saying ‘aaah’ think they are the only people to have such concerns and as a result, they avoid talking about their fears. Some may even avoid attending check-ups altogether, which, as you can imagine, is detrimental to long-term dental health.
At Dr Bobby Chhoker, our dental team knows all too well how serious dental phobias can be. Therefore, we will always make it our mission to ensure that when you attend a check-up with our team, you are treated with dignity and compassion. After all, we want to keep your smile looking and feeling its best, so if you need a bit of coaxing to get into the dental chair, let us know!
Aside from booking an appointment with our dentist, what are some of the other steps that we recommend to help overcome a dental phobia? Read on to find out.
Distractions
Better used if you have mild to moderate issues, our dentist would be more than happy to work on your teeth while you are either listening to music on headphones or even an audiobook.
We know that many people’s phobia of dental care stems from the sound of the drill or the general sounds of the dental surgery, so if listening to music or a guided meditation will help you to relax, we endorse it fully!
Communication
If you are worried about seeing our dental team, please let us know! If we know, we can help.
As we said before, we know that dental phobias can be devastating to someone’s mental and physical health and will therefore always endeavour to make you feel as comfortable as possible. If you tell us that you have concerns, we will aim to get you in to see a member of our team for an early morning appointment, to ease any anxiety and to get the appointment completed quickly. Great!
Friends and family
If the thought of visiting our surgery by yourself worries you, then we are more than happy for you to be accompanied by a friend or family member.
If you are coming in for a more extensive treatment that may require sedatives or anaesthetics, we would advise that you bring someone along with you to look after you. Let us know if you plan to bring someone so we can make room for them in our surgery rooms!
Counselling
For more severe cases of dental phobia, we may recommend some kind of counselling, to help you get to the root of your concerns (see what we did there?). This will help you to feel more in control when you get into the dental chair, and will help you see dental care for what it is; a tool to help with your daily life and to boost your confidence. Great stuff!
DISCLAIMER
All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to ensure that the treatment is right for you.