How To Overcome Dental Anxiety?

3 Ways of Coping with Dental Anxiety

Experiencing dental anxiety is more common than you may realize, with an estimated one-in-six being affected, regardless of age, background or lifestyle. Although experiencing anxiety in a dental setting is quite common, is not a good thing if it negatively impacts your quality of life, your oral health, or your ability to receive dental care.

At Aesthetic Dental Center of Rockland County, we are fully aware that many of our patients are having feelings of anxiety or dread about their dental appointments. We are on your side, and want to help ensure that you have a positive, safe and comfortable experience whenever you visit us. We definitely don't want anyone to put off needed dental care because of feelings of anxiety. Read on to learn of a few ways that you can alleviate dental anxiety so that you can receive the dental care that you need.

What causes dental anxiety?

Patients have a variety of reasons that they may feel uneasy about a dental visit. It is may be due to past negative experiences with dental treatment, often when experienced as a child.

Some common causes of dental phobia or anxiety include:

• Triggers like the sounds and smell of a medical practice
• Pre-existing anxiety conditions like panic disorder or claustrophobia
• Previous negative experiences in a dental office or healthcare setting
• Fear of pain, restraint or invasive dental procedures
• Being forced to receive dental care as a child
• Feeling a loss of control while being treated

Three Tips for Overcoming Dental Anxiety:

1. Pre-planning

One way that many patients overcome dental anxiety is by having a conversation with their dentist or dental team about their anxiety so that they understand fully what their needed dental procedure involves and what to expect. This way there are no surprises that could heighten anxiety.

2. You are in control.

As a patient, you should realize that you are fully in control at all times during your dental procedure. One way that some patients cope with dental anxiety is by pre-arranging a hand signal so that the procedure stops at that point whenever anxiety is becoming overwhelming. Merely knowing that they have this ability helps many patients prevent anxiety before it even begins.

3. Nitrous Oxide

Commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous oxide is a colorless and odorless gas that can be delivered into the nose before a dental procedure. This will completely relax you and prevent any anxiety from occurring during a procedure.

After you breathe in the nitrous gas, you'll begin feeling its effects within about 30 seconds. Nitrous gas can also be delivered prior to receiving a pain shot, as this helps with those who experience anxiety around needles.

Contact Aesthetic Dental Center

If you are anxious about an upcoming appointment, don't worry. This is a very common experience that we are used to dealing with and are trained for. Please reach out to us to share your concerns so that we can take steps to make you as comfortable as possible so that you can receive needed dental care.