Nervous about seeing our dentist? How we can help

It is one of the most common phobias experienced in the Western world; fear of opening your mouth, saying ‘aaaaah’ and having your teeth looked at.

Many people have a fear or phobia of attending dental check-ups, which if left for long enough, can cause serious issues for their dental and general health. For example, if you do not attend biannual check-ups, you are at a higher risk of issues such as minor cavities becoming active tooth decay, which is not only painful, but is generally something you will want to avoid!

At Cannon Street Dental Centre, our dentist in City of London can help patients, who are nervous or phobic about getting into the dental chair, to cope and feel comfortable. We will take the treatments that you need at your own pace, and will always ensure that any questions that you have are answered in jargon-free language.

In this article, our dentist in City of London will explain the common ways that we help people to feel more comfortable in our dental surgery, and will explore some of the reasons why many people generally have a phobia relating to dental care.

Why are people scared of dental care?

There are many reasons why someone may be less than eager to visit our dentist in City of London. They may be embarrassed about the condition of their teeth and may be worried about receiving a judgmental response from our team (this won’t happen, we promise!). Some may have had a bad experience with dental care early in life, and are now concerned that they will be subjected to discomfort. Others may simply not like having their teeth looked at. Whatever the reason, we get it!

Communication

So, how can we help you to relax? Well, for one thing, for patients who have mild to moderate anxiety, we can help to build a rapport with you. We will help you to see that we are people too and will discuss any issues we come across after examining your teeth explaining what we are going to do.

Music

If the sound of the dental drill unnerves you, then feel free to discuss listening to music with our team. You can lay back, plug in your iPhone and listen to your favourite songs, or even do a guided meditation. This will help you to feel more relaxed and will allow our team to work on your mouth at the required speed.

Nitrous oxide

If you want a more detached experience while in the dental chair, our team can offer you nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. This is administered through a mask and will render you partially conscious, but without the ability to feel discomfort. Once the mask is off, you will wake up and should be able to go about your day as normal.

Intravenous sedation

A step up from this is intravenous or IV sedation. This is administered through a drip in your arm and puts you into twilight sedation. Once we have completed our work and you wake up, you should avoid driving for 24 hours and should have someone to escort you home and keep an eye on you for 24 hours.