How to overcome your fear of the dentist
Using these six strategies will help you overcome dental anxiety:
1. Choose the right dentist. Choose a dental office that is known to be compassionate and caring, empathetic and understanding to give you confidence to go to their office.
2. Speak up about your fears. The most effective treatment for dental anxiety is information. When we shine the light on what we are doing, why we are doing it and how it works, everyone relaxes. Having a discussion with your dentist about your situation, the proposed solutions and procedures involved is the best way to ease anxiety.
3. Prepare for the visit. You may want to have a family member or loved one accompany you during the visit. It can help when someone is there in the waiting room to be there for any support.
4. Visit the dentist regularly. Since our biggest fears are of the unknown, the more often we come to the dental office, the more comfortable we will become with the process, the people and even the sounds and smells of the office.
5. Manage the pain. There are several methods to help manage extreme forms of dental anxiety. There are topical anesthetics that can be applied to numb the tissue. Patients can also be sedated with:
– Nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
– Oral sedation (prescription medication).
– Deep sedation (IV sedation).
6. Understand the cost of care. Talk to your dentist about your dental insurance plan, and also find out if dentist has payment options available to help you. Make sure to discuss the cost of care in advance, so that any financial concerns are clearly addressed. Hence, it won’t be in the back of your mind preventing from being relaxed.