3 Important Tips For Reducing Dental Anxiety
Do you suffer from problems with your teeth? Do you have a phobia of going to the dentist that prevents you from receiving the care that your teeth need? Dental phobias are extremely common and can be an issue for many people. If you have such a phobia, it can be difficult for you to even visit the dentist for a yearly exam, let alone allowing him or her to work on your teeth. Fortunately, there are a few strategies you can use that will help lessen your anxiety and make it easier for you to have your teeth checked out and worked on. Some of the things you should consider include:
Noise-canceling headphones: For a lot of people, the mere sound of a drill or other dental appliances can raise their anxiety levels. Although you may not actually yet need to have a cavity filled or have other reasons for having your teeth drilled, you may still hear sounds that you find to be unpleasant when you visit the dentist. With a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones, you can listen to soothing music or an audiobook while your teeth are being worked on. While you may not completely forget that you're at the dentist, hearing something besides the normal dentist office sounds can help keep your stress level low.
Arrive on-time: With the exception of your first office visit, where you have to fill out forms pertaining to your visit, you should try to arrive for your appointment exactly on time. Arriving too early for your appointment will result in your sitting around doing nothing in the office while you wait for your appointment time. The longer you're in the office, the higher your anxiety levels will be as you wait your turn. And if your dentist is running late with his or her appointments, you'll be stuck waiting even longer. Arriving as close to your appointment time as possible will help reduce the anxiety that results from the anticipation of seeing the dentist.
Different anesthetic: If you've been to the dentist before and were less than impressed with the amount of pain control, you may be understandably reluctant to return to have your cavities fixed. But what you may not realize is that a good dentist has many anesthetic options available. Some patients may be able to have their treatment performed with little more than a rub-on anesthetic gel while others may need several shots of injectable anesthetic to get the same amount of relief. If the past anesthetic did nothing, talk to a dentist like Hughes Thomas R before the procedure to find out about other options that he or she has.