Dental fear keeping you awake?

Are you feeling nervous about your upcoming dental visit? You have nothing to fear. Here at Woodborough House we can help you to overcome your dental phobia by offering a range of advice and procedures to help to calm your nerves.

Fear of the Dentist

Every patient who comes into the practice will have a degree of nervousness or anxiety about sitting down in the dental chair. According to the website Dental Fear Central, recent studies have shown that 80-85% of dental phobias are caused by previous bad experiences with dentists. So there’s no need to feel alone – it’s a lot more common than you think!

Addressing your Fear

One way of addressing these issues about your fear of the dentist, is to look at the root cause. If you listen to other people’s worries and fears for example, it can create a biased and negative view of dental treatment. Many patients may have a long-standing fear of dentists as a result of previous bad experiences, usually from a young age.

It is important to be realistic and realise that dentistry has evolved dramatically in recent years, so if you have that feeling about the ‘fear of the unknown’, simply ask your dentist to explain the procedure in full prior to the treatment and he or she will be more than happy to help. This can be a powerful and effective way of reducing this fear.

Other calming methods you might like to try including bringing someone with you to your dental appointment, building up a good relationship with your dentist and remembering to take deep breaths! It also helps to let your dental team know in advance that you are nervous, so they can do all they can to ensure you have an anxiety-free visit.

The dentist performing your procedure can provide you with a full explanation of the treatment involved and will be completely honest with you regarding your expectations and the desired results, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Dental Sedation

Should you require it, we can offer you dental sedation. Sedation is a relaxed pharmaceutical agent which is used to help reduce any feelings of anxiety and to give you a more relaxed experience at the dentist. It is perfectly safe to use and extremely effective if it’s conducted with the correct setup and aftercare.

At Woodborough House, we usually offer this in the form of an oral sedative (i.e a pill) or the intravenous sedation (an injection) as part of a safe and predictable routine. Our Patient Co-ordinator Cathy Hickey can administer a sedative to calm your nerves, monitoring your reaction to it and adjusting the dose as necessary.

Am I suitable for a sedative?

Most patients make suitable sedative candidates. However, there are a few medical conditions which may affect suitability, so the decision will be made by your dentist.