dental fear when you are scared of the dentist Perth dentist Claremont dentist

When you’re scared of the dentist, but you know you need to go

If you’re afraid of the dentist, you’re not alone. A recent study published in the Australian Dental Journal  found that in a random sample of 7312 Australians, 16.1% had high dental fear.

Most people with high dental fear were women aged 40-64 years of age.

In my 10 years of practising dentistry, many patients I have seen with dental fear and anxiety usually recount a bad experience as a child. It is a great pity that dentistry 30-40 years ago was brutal and had little regard for the comfort or trauma to the patient. Fortunately, attitudes have vastly changed since then and patient comfort has become important.

For me, there is nothing that gives me more satisfaction than to help to change a patient’s fear and negative attitude by providing dental care which is gentle, comfortable and also help to improve the health and appearance of their teeth!

Unfortunately, many people with high dental fear visit the dentist irregularly, resulting in dental problems becoming more complicated. Most of these people were also found to have a higher number of missing teeth.

Irregular dental attendance means that problems that could have been dealt with quickly and easily become worse, resulting in pain, higher costs and more complex treatment.

This is why trying to overcome dental fears can really help to transform a patient’s dental health, self esteem and confidence!

Do you suffer from dental fear? At Dental Quarters we want to help our patients to overcome their fears. Here’s some of the tailored ways we try to help our patients feel calm and relaxed.

  1. An individual approach. I begin by asking my patients if there is something specific they are fearful of. Some people are scared of needles, and some people hate drilling. Once we can ascertain what the triggers are for fear, I can work together with my patient to figure out a plan of action. We can also start by doing small jobs first, to build confidence.
  2. Explanation of exactly what is happening (if you are ok with this). Fear is common when you don’t understand or know what is happening. Most patients feel more at ease when they know exactly what is going to happen, so I like to make sure my patients understand what I will be doing. BUT, some people don’t like to know all the details, so this is fine too.
  3. Patient comfort is the most important! I will continually check to make sure my patient is comfortable, and if there is something they dislike, or find uncomfortable, they know they are always safe to say so.
  4. A gentle injection technique. We always use local anaesthetic gel placed on the gum before we do any injections. This numbs the gum so that you are much less likely to feel the injection. There’s also a bit of a knack to delivering a gentle injection; I try to do it as slow as possible so it’s less uncomfortable.
  5. Being properly numbed. I always make sure that patients are numb enough, and I will believe you when you tell me you need extra anaesthetic!
  6. Distraction. We have a huge TV screen on our ceiling where you can pick your favourite show on Netflix to watch. You can also bring in headphones too if you don’t like the sound of the drill.
  7. Medications. Some patient will still need anti-anxiety medications, especially if there is a big procedure that needs to be done. We commonly prescribe Valium 1 hour before appointments to help with this.
  8. Sedation. Some patients have complex dental problems and they prefer to be sedated for their treatment. We can organise this with a certified anaesthetist who will monitor you throughout the treatment, which is performed at our clinic. We also offer oral sedation in the form of Penthrox which you inhale just before your treatment is done.

Ultimately, we feel most comfortable when you are too! If dental fear is holding you back, don’t let this cause painful dental problems or make you embarrassed to smile. There are so many great solutions to how you can achieve a beautiful smile without the fear and anxiety.

DISCLAIMER: 

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

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