Most people who suffer from dental anxiety are reported to have feared the dentist since their childhood. This means that dental anxiety might hinder your journey to improve your oral health. Do not look for an excuse to attend that dental appointment. It is crucial for your overall dental health.
Below, we have outlined five effective ways of coping with dental anxiety. We will also outline the best treatment options for anxious patients. However, let's first define the term dental anxiety.
What Is Dental Anxiety?
Dental anxiety, or rather, dental phobia, is a term used to refer to the fear of seeing and visiting the dentist. Almost nine in every 100 people suffer from this condition. Most people develop it as a result of childhood trauma. Other causes include fear of pain, trust issues, general anxiety disorder, and injection fear.
Dental Anxiety Treatment And Coping Options
Fortunately, there are numerous remedies for people suffering from dental fear. Below are five things that will help you cope with dental anxiety when in the waiting room of a dental clinic.
1. Let Them Come With A Trustworthy Friend
Peer encouragement is an excellent remedy for keeping dental anxiety victims calm during their visit to a dentist. The encouragement can be from a workout mate, family member, or a close friend. You should get one of them to help ease your anxiety when attending an appointment with your dentist.
2. Use Distractions
Most of the unfamiliar dental clinic tools can make you nervous. If you find them bothersome during your visit, you can look for distractions to keep yourself off these tools. Consider watching surfing the net or listening to your favourite music using earphones.
3. Employ Relaxation Techniques
There are lots of breathing relaxation methods that you can use to feel relaxed at the dentist. For instance, meditating for a few minutes will undoubtedly alleviate any nervousness. Also, you can close your eyes and take deep breaths to ease anxiety. This will also lower your blood pressure, slow your heartbeat rate, and relax your muscles.
4. Feel in Control
Most people develop dental anxiety due to restlessness when in the dental clinic. During a dental session, consider communicating your fears with the dentist to get a clear picture of your expectations. This gives you a sense of control by alleviating your worries. Besides, the dentist might recommend a certain type of treatment after learning that you suffer dental anxiety.
5. Seek Sedation Dentistry
Oral sedation is an excellent solution for dental anxiety. It removes all your negative thoughts, which keeps you calm during the treatment. Nitrous oxide is a popular element of oral dentistry. It is usually delivered using a gas mask to keep you relaxed.
How To Treat Patients With Dental Anxiety
As the actual dentist, you need to use certain dental procedures when dealing with victims of dental fear. Some of them include:
1). Relative Analgesia
Relative analgesia, or nitrous oxide or laughing gas, will keep you relaxed during a dental procedure. The dentist fits a mask on your face and then releases the gas, which takes minutes to work and wears off. Most people feel the relaxation from nitrous oxide pleasant, while others find it unpleasant. You can consider other dental treatment options if relative analgesia does not work well for you.
2). Anxiety-Relieving Medication
The dentist can sometimes prescribe oral medication for relieving anxiety. You should take the dosage an hour before your appointment. However, you should take it only when prescribed by a reputable doctor. After taking it, you may need someone to take you to the dental clinic as it is unsafe to drive under the influence of sedative medication.
3). Conscious Sedation
Your dentist can also administer sedation medication through a drip on your arm. It is sometimes referred to as twilight sedation, and it gives you a feeling of relaxation that might even make you fall asleep while still responding to verbal prompts. Unfortunately, this has several side effects, such as nausea and drowsiness. You should therefore avoid driving yourself home after this option. Most doctors do not offer sedative treatments as you might have other medical complications which may accelerate the side effects. As a patient, make sure to consult your dentist first before opting for this type of treatment.
4). General Anesthesias
General anaesthetic treatment will leave you with side effects such as nausea and drowsiness. It usually takes longer to recover from the impact of a general anaesthetic compared to other forms of sedation. Despite being an effective way of treating a patient suffering from dental anxiety, it is ineffective in helping the patient cope with the condition. The treatment works well in conjunction with other effective methods. It is mainly recommended if other strategies have failed to work.
Where To Buy Quality Dental Equipment
Dental fear is common among children and grownups. Luckily, there are different ways of dealing with the condition, which has proved worthwhile for anxious patients. They include hypnosis, distractions, and meditation, among others. Patient comfort is also an important consideration when it comes to dental anxiety.
Helping the patient feel comfortable and relaxed is also the key. Therefore, certain equipment such as a comfortable dental chair can assist. Do you want to buy essential dental clinic equipment such as a dental chair, dental unit, electrosurgical, dental lasers, and more? We've got you covered at MES Australia.
We have been around since 1952, supplying high-quality medical equipment to professional health providers. Call us now to make an order to improve your oral health.
Please give us a call at 1300 342 013 to learn more about our products and services or leave an enquiry.
