Dental anxiety is one of the most common phobias in the world with nearly a third of all adults disliking the dentist and 1 in 10 of us having a phobia so strong that we actually avoid making visits to the dentist. Dental fear is a problem that needs to be tackled head on however as our oral hygiene is incredibly important for our health.
Overcoming Mild Dental Anxiety
Mild dental anxiety is discomfort and nervousness at the dentist It can be treated in a number of ways.
Talking to your dentist
Talking to your dentist is the first step to overcoming your dental fears. Make sure your dentist understands your exact fears and work with them to make your appointment as relaxed as possible by taking breaks and letting them put you at ease. Here at Ninety 2 Dental we aim to make patients feel happy and comfortable, If you are a nervous patient we will be happy to allocate extra time for appointments as we want to make the dental surgery a calm, relaxing environment for you. We want you to remember you are in control, During treatment if you would like us to stop you can simply raise your hand whether it be because you need more anaesthesia, want to rinse, or simply need a break.
Practicing breathing techniques
Controlled breathing relaxes your body and shifts your focus to other things in order to preoccupy your mind. This is fantastic when you are at the dentist as you can avoid a lot of discomfort and anxiety. The easiest breathing techniques simply involve inhaling and exhaling through your nose for a slow count of three – so three seconds breathing in followed by three seconds breathing out. This technique is particularly useful as it also overcomes the breathing issues many of us feel when things are in our mouth.
Using relaxation techniques
There are a number of relaxation techniques that may work for you. You could bring music into your appointment with you, ask to have your favourite radio station on or just have the nurse chatting to you about something. Different relaxation and distraction techniques work for different people so try and find something that will work well for you.
Counselling
You can receive counselling for your phobia. This will aim to look at the root causes of your phobia and will try to work through it so that you can move beyond it. Counselling is free on the NHS for severe phobias and helps hundreds of people.
If your a nervous patient and would like more information on how we can help please click the link below to see our website page Nervous Patient Programme or simply call a member of our team on 0208 337 1168
https://www.ninety2dental.co.uk/sutton-surrey-dental-nervouspatient.html
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