If you’re ever been phased by the idea of dental surgery then you have almost certainly suffered dental phobia, a common response. This is backed up by the fact that 25% of us suffer from nervousness before we visit the doctor, according to a survey done by the British Dental Association.
A number of factors can cause dental phobia, whether that be the dentist themselves, the instruments, past experiences or even simply general fear. Even though it is unique to each person dental phobia is something that we can help you with.
Visiting the dentist is crucial as we know that dental health is directly linked to your general overall health. When visiting us we want you to feel calm and at ease because we believe you deserve the best dental care possible. This will in turn help you to avoid serious dental concerns.
How do we help?
Our caring and understanding team has trained to use both technology and techniques with worried patients suffering from dental phobia. Detailed below is information on how exactly we can help you and of course don’t be afraid to give us a call if you need to know more or have any particular needs or issues.
Minimising phobia with the environment
Our highly trained team go to great lengths to lesson your anxiety and help your relaxation, all in our safe and inviting environment. Our relaxing reception allows you to get comfortable before your appointment with many magazines and newspapers. The surgery itself boasts cosy seating as well as the ability to listen to any calming music of your choice.
Minimising phobia with gentle dentistry and technique
While taking the time to talk to patients our sensitive and highly skilled staff will help diagnose the cause of your anxiety and allay any concerns. Understanding how our patients feel is very important to us and we always act according to each patient’s unique needs.
We maintained a relaxed atmosphere to compliment our gentle approach to dentistry. We want patients to feel safe and secure. In our view making the best out of relaxation techniques is just as important as expert clinical knowledge. Keeping our patients in a relaxed and safe mindset throughout their experience with us is crucial.
Chatting to the patient is one of the most important parts of this technique. This allows us and the patient to understand each other better and talk more about the processes involved. We can then take the patient through all the various stages and guide them on what they will feel and what they can expect during any treatment. We’ve found that this allows the patient to enter the clinic with more confidence in a dentist they know and trust.
Minimising phobia with sedation dentistry and technology
Technology can play just as important a part in helping patients as the personal approach. Doing continuous research is vital and the use of sedatives is part of the training, which can be administered in several ways. The key role of sedatives is to help the patient enter a calm and relaxed state of mind before the treatment begins.
Minimising phobia with behavioural techniques
While we do our best to help you we also recommend these tips to help you alleviate your worries and beat your phobia.
- Having a morning appointment ensures that you won’t be worrying about it all day.
- The first appointment is only a consultation so you only really need to talk things over with your dentist. Ask any questions you like and get to know your dentist and the processes involved.
- In terms of moral support feel free to bring a family member or friend.
- Beforehand chat to family and friends about experiences that they’ve had.
- In order to combat your anxiety and give yourself a level of control try to agree a signal with your dentist before you start the treatment. This signal will be your way of telling the dentist that you need a break.
- Start with a quick and simple procedure like having your dentist clean and polish your teeth. This will allow you to become more adjusted to general dental procedures.
Keeping patients satisfied and calm whilst providing top class treatment is our number one priority and we pride ourselves on this. Whether it’s our relaxation techniques, caring customer service or our top of the range technology we know how to make you relax and guarantee that your visit will be both comfy and worthwhile.
Online Resource Centre
In our online resource centre you will find links to a number of useful independent dental Apps. We hope these will cover any additional areas you are interested in, but please feel free to contact us if you require any further information.
Apps that can help
Welcome to the apps section, where we have detailed a number of apps that can help manage dental anxiety. These can be downloaded and viewed on smart phones.
Dental Phobia – this site provides an extensive amount of information on Dental Phobia.
Hypnotherapy app – this Fear of Dental Treatment App has been developed by hypnotherapists following many years of helping patients to overcome their fear. This App features:
• A calming and effective hypnosis session in a choice of male or female voice which will help you to re-programme your mind and make you feel more relaxed and in control.
• Specially composed background music to aid your complete relaxation, both before and during any dental treatment.
• 20 top tips to support overcoming dental phobia and fear of dental treatment, that can be used in conjunction with the hypnosis audio.
Dental Expert – This is a patient’s guide to understanding all aspects of dentistry and its procedures, including the most frequently asked dental questions answered by a top dental expert in each field.
Dental Care Aid – this App is focused on the area of oral hygiene, helping patients more effectively care for their teeth and gums.