If you experience dental anxiety, you’re not alone – many patients who visit our family dentistry dental clinic report feelings of discomfort or even anxiety about visiting the dentist. This holds true for patients who are young and old.

Research shows that between 50 – 80% of adults have some form of dental anxiety – whether simple aversions to dental procedures like scaling or polishing to outright avoiding dental visits unless they’re critically necessary.

Chances are your anxiety and worry may be worse in the end than the dental procedure. But that’s easy to say. It’s harder to believe when you’re facing a visit to the dentist.

So what can you do to lower your dental anxiety when you visit your family dentistry dental clinic?

1.  Talk to Your Dentist

Whether you have concerns about complex dental procedures like a crown or root canal, or you experience anxiety over teeth cleaning, talk about it with your dentist or dental hygienist. Believe me, you won’t offend. They’re trained to find solutions to lower your dental anxiety. If you don’t like the grittiness of the polish, they can change it up. If keeping your mouth open for long stretches makes you uncomfortable, they’ll take more breaks.

Even more patients at our family dentistry dental clinic express fears over procedures like tooth extractions, fillings, and dental implants. Why? They’re afraid of pain for the most part. But the reality is that pain management has advanced a lot in the past few years. While we can’t promise you’ll feel no pain, most patients report a feeling of pressure. And there’s ways you can manage dental pain both during and after the procedure.

2. Get the Details…Or Get Distracted

For some, dental anxiety is similar to the fear of flying – it’s due to a loss of control and fear of the unknown. This can be easily remedied by your dentist. They’ll be happy to outline any dental procedure before it begins, and if you want, they can walk you through it step-by-step as they perform the procedure.

To some, though, that sounds like dental hell. If you’d rather simply not know, there’s a lot of ways you can be distracted and comforted during the procedure. Lowered lights, music, blankets, even anesthesia can be used to calm the nervous system and soothe your worries.

3. Bring A Friend

Support from a relative or friend can ease your worries. Ask your dentist if they will allow someone to come with you into the exam room. They may be able to hold your hand and talk to distract you and ease your fears.

This is especially true with children. While some children love visiting the dentist, others can find the chair, lights, instruments and noises very frightening. Having a parent in the room helps reassure them that these procedures are normal and there’s nothing to fear.

4. Take Care of Your Teeth Between Visits

Does the sound of teeth cleaning make you shiver? The easy solution is to take care of your teeth between visits. Good brushing and flossing habits will brush away the plaque on your teeth and prevent tartar formation. Cleaner teeth and healthy gums mean a quicker checkup and cleaning – it’s simple!

Want to avoid getting a cavity? Avoid foods that can harm your oral health like sugary foods and beverages.

5. Visit the Family Dentistry Dental Clinic for Regular Dental Checkups

This last one may be the hardest. But it’s also the most important. Because the chances are that if you ignore the dentist, you could develop serious dental problems. While dental checkups might be uncomfortable, a tooth extraction, filling, or root canal can be worse. Regular dental checkups and cleanings are a critical step to protect your oral health – and your overall health.

Midland Bay Dental – A Trusted Family Dentistry Dental Clinic

If you experience dental anxiety, talk to the team at Midland Bay Dental. At our family dentistry dental Clinic, we’re happy to help soothe your worries. From dental cleanings and dental exams to teeth whitening, cavity fillings and crowns, you can trust Dr. Ranny Sidhu and the team to take care of you. Contact our office by calling (705) 526-6441 or completing our online form.

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