Overcoming Your Anxiety of Dental Visits

by Dr. Dai on August 14, 2017

For some people, the thought of going to see their dentist cause them to experience anxiety and stress. If you feel this way, you are not alone and about one out of every four people can feel the same way. Fortunately, thanks to many recent advances in modern dentistry, you can start relaxing when you come in for your next regular checkup and cleaning using these tips and suggestions.

Determine the Root Cause of Your Anxiety

When you can get to what truly bothers you about visiting the dentist it will help you develop an effective solution for addressing the issue and overcoming your anxiety. For instance, some people have a general fear of needles, and they associate needles with dental visits and getting cavities filled or other dental procedures.

For other people, they have sensitive teeth and gums and experience discomfort when their hygienist is trying to clean their teeth. No matter your reason, take the time to think about what causes your anxiety so you are more aware of what is really causing it.

Develop an Appropriate Solution

Once you understand what triggers your dental office visit anxiety, you can start to develop a solution. The following are some examples of different things other people have used to help overcome their anxiety:

• Issue: The noise of dental equipment bothers me and makes me feel uncomfortable.
• Solution: Bring along a pair of headphones, plug them into your smartphone and play your favorite music to drown out these sounds and help you relax.

• Issue: My teeth are gums are overly sensitive and it hurts when the dentist or hygienist is conducting an oral exam.
• Solution: Inform your dental team of your sensitivity and ask them to use a local numbing agent on your teeth and gums.

• Issue: I start to feel uncomfortable after sitting for more than a half hour.
• Solution: Let your dental team know, so they can stop, take a break and let you get up and stretch.

• Issue: I notice discomfort in my mouth part way through a procedure and always feel anxious when I know I have to get this procedure done.
• Solution: Again, talk to your dental team and let them know this and agree upon a motion you can make to signal you want them to stop so they can re-numb area.

• Issue: The only times I can get to the dentist are on hectic work days or days where I have an intense family schedule.
• Solution: Ask your dentist about evening and weekend appointments that you can take advantage of, so you will not have a dental visit scheduled on an already stressful day.

As you can see there are several viable solutions for overcoming your anxiety. The main one, of course is to inform your dentist, hygienist, and other dental team members of your concerns and work with them to develop effective solutions to make your visits more relaxing.

Here at Kennedy Square Dental, we cater to people who have anxiety when visiting the dentist. Simply let us know your concerns, and we will gladly work with you to develop an appropriate solution. To schedule a regular checkup and cleaning or other dental procedure, please feel free to call (905) 789-7339 today!

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