Anxious Patients
Dental Phobia
According to statistics, dental phobia is one of the most common phobias in the UK. If you suffer from dental phobia or you experience extreme anxiety when you go to the dentist or you think about having dental treatment, you’re not alone and you don’t have to suffer in silence; dental teams have training in caring for nervous patients and they can use a variety of techniques and treatments to try and ease your fears, prevent you from feeling anxious and help you to build confidence gradually.
What causes dental phobia?
There are many factors, which may contribute to dental phobia, including:
- negative experiences in the past
- fear of pain
- fear of injections and needles
- fear of the drill
- fear of the unknown
- a negative perception of dentists
- fear of dental health issues
- embarrassment about the state of your teeth
Phobias can be hard to cope with, but there are ways of managing anxiety and overcoming fears. Dental professionals are trained to deal with anxious patients today and they are able to use modern treatments and techniques to minimise pain, make patients feel more relaxed and reduce anxiety.
If you suffer from dental phobia, it is best to contact your dentist so that you can discuss your fears and worries with them and they can then work with you to help you to feel more comfortable and enable you to manage your anxiety and gradually overcome your phobia. Your dentist will also be able to talk to you about the kinds of treatments they can use to make dental care more comfortable, such as painless injections and sedation.
About sedation
Sedation is a very effective technique for nervous patients and it is used commonly in dentistry and medicine. Sedation involves using sedative medication to induce a state of calm and completely relax the body; when you are sedated, you will be conscious, but you won’t feel any pain and you won’t have much recollection of what happened during the procedure once the effects start to wear off. Sedation can be hugely beneficial to nervous patients, especially those undergoing long or complex procedures.