Each of us has our reason to fear the dentist, it may have been a previous dental visit that caused too much pain, or even just by thinking about visiting the dentist give you so much anxiety but being afraid of visiting the dentist may cause serious dental health issues. This can be avoided by thinking about good experiences and what a dental visit can do to your oral health, try to give it some time and try to look for another dentist who would listen and make you feel welcome, this can help you overcome your fear. Ask friends because they would not recommend you to the wrong dentist or read the reviews on their clinic’s website. Patients become comfortable with their dentist if they can discuss details of their treatment, what to expect from the treatment, and giving treatment options, a well-formulated treatment plan from your dentist will make patients feel at ease.
Here are some signs of dental anxiety:
- Avoiding dental visit on purpose
- Can’t sleep the night before a dental appointment
- Avoiding dental visit until a problem occurs
- Feeling uneasy inside the dental office
- Various reasons come up when thinking of visiting the dentist.
- Low blood pressure
- Sweating
Causes of a Dental Anxiety
- Fear Of pain
All of us are afraid of pain, an awful experience with an unpleasant dental procedure, it could be some simple instances that go wrong that triggers dental pain.
- Humiliation
If a patient has dental problems that may have been neglected for a long time, for example, bad breath and the physical appearance of the teeth may cause the patient to be embarrassed to see a dentist.
- Costs of dental checkup and procedures
All dental procedures involve expenses, and can be one of the major reasons for patient anxiety to visit a dentist, they would reason out I do not have dental insurance and I have no money to pay for the check-up and the procedure.
How should dental anxiety be dealt with?
To handle anxiety is to deal with it directly, just like any first move it would be very difficult since you should see your dentist personally as the first step.
- Tell your dentist about your fears
An initial interview is usually done by the receptionist, let them know of your anxieties and fears, the team will come out with a better treatment plan when they know what you want and don’t want. Feel free to ask questions about your case, if you feel pain while the procedure is going on, let the team know.
- Try some relaxation techniques
Meditation can help relax your body and relieve fears, Deep breathing relaxes tensed muscles. Relaxing lowers your anxiety level and helps cope with the symptoms.
- Use distractions
This helps divert pain and lessen avoidance behavior. Diversion by listening to music watching a video, or asking for a short break would be a great way of distraction.
- General Anesthesia
This is used for patients with severe anxiety and can only be done in hospitals, this is also applicable depending on the dental treatment, for example, it cannot be used in root canal procedures since it needs several appointments to complete. It is recommended for the procedure which involves severe pain like dental implants, impacted tooth extraction, and the like.
- Anti-anxiety mediations
The dentist may be able to give patients medications that will relieve their anxiety, like diazepam to help them relax, a small dose will be given before the procedure, this medication should be taken under the supervision of the doctor and should not be taken unless advised. Patients who would take anti-anxiety medications should have someone with them and should not be allowed to drive.
Whatever the reason may be, a good dental team with a good treatment plan will make patients more comfortable and lessen their anxiety. Once anxiety has been eliminated, the risk of having dental problems is also eliminated, patients will have more reasons to visit a dentist.
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