Huge numbers of the population struggle with some form of dental anxiety. Connotations with the dental chair can, for lots of reasons, be very negative. It could be that you’ve picked up some fear from your parents or perhaps you watched a scary dentist film as a child. Whatever the reason, know that you aren’t alone and there are actually lots of really simple proactive ways to help address your dental anxiety.
Dental fear vs Dental Phobia
Dental anxiety is broken up into two categories, fear/anxiety or phobia. If you’re someone who has a dental phobia – which is when you physically can’t even bare the idea of going to the dentist in City of London and couldn’t face it at all then that’s much harder to treat alone and you need to find help from your doctor and dentist about how to move forward, in some cases people look to hypnotherapy as a way to help with their phobia.
If however it’s dental fear or anxiety there are little steps you can put in place to help yourself on your dental journey. Dental anxiety though difficult is something that you can make a serious difference to on your own, here’s how.
Steps to help with dental anxiety
Number one – Find a dentist you can trust. There are some many dentists out there and so finding one you feel comfortable with is super important. Speak to friends and family and check online reviewings services to see who has the best reputation in your area. Check on their website to see if they offer support when it comes to anxious patients.
Number Two – Visit the practice, there’s no harm in going to see the practice ahead of your appointment. Lots of people become anxious when they have to visit a new place for the first time, that’s really very normal – if you’re already worried about dental anxiety then remove some extra stress by familiarising yourself with the place ahead of time.
Number Three – Book an early appointment and start simple. There’s no need to spend a whole day worrying about an upcoming appointment with your dentist in the City of London. Booking early allows for you to get the job done before you’ve time to worry. And unless you’re in for an emergency, book something simple like a quick checkup as your first appointment.
Number Four – Bring a loved one. There’s no need to come alone, even as adults it’s nice to have a familiar face in the room. Having a support network with you will really help to calm the butterflies.
Number Five – Distraction techniques can work. Bring some headphones so you can pop on your favourite tunes or maybe even bring an eye mask so you can try and completely zone out. Stress balls can be handy so you’ve got somewhere to focus your nervous energy too.
Number Six – Work out a hand signal with your dentist which will make them stop what they’re doing. This technique is great for putting you back in control of the situation.