Also known as dental phobia, dental anxiety, or dental fear, fear of the dentist is a condition suffered by many people. The most devastating part of dental anxiety is how it usually transforms an irrational phobia into a really traumatic experience. However, avoiding the dentist’s office is not at all a solution. It could lead to several oral and general body health issues.
In the rest of this post, we will be discussing 10 highly effective and research-based tips that will help you to beat dental anxiety.
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Have an open communication with your dentist
As overly simple as this might sound, it remains crucial that the first thing to do is discuss your dental anxiety problem with your dentist. Ideally, every member of the dental team in a clinic is trained to assist patients in calming their anxiety through encouragement and sympathy.
When you talk to your dentist about your anxiety, you would probably be asked such questions as:
- Are you afraid of the needle?
- Does the sound of the drill scare you?
- Are you worried I’ll think badly of you as a result of your breath or dental problem?
- Are you afraid that the anaesthesia will wear off quickly, leaving you in great pain than intended?
- Do you struggle with any other mental health concern?
By providing genuine answers to these questions, your dentist will be able to plan each (future) visits in accordance with your specific dental needs. A good dentist should be able to calm you during your visitation. This could be done via a reassuring touch on your shoulder, a gentle voice, a warm smile, and good eye contact. More importantly, your dentist has to pay attention to and address any concerns that come up.
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Try CBD oil before dental appointment
The use of CBD oil is a good way to get away from pharmaceuticals in dental practice. Although there’s no study that demonstrates how exactly CBD would work in a dental procedure, it however sure helps to relieve anxiety in general. We typically recommend that our patients who are nervous about their appointment take CBD the night before and on the morning of their visit.
Certain reports claim that CBD is effective and safe for children, but it’s rather limited. It is important that you consult with your healthcare provider before you try CBD with your children.
Caution: CBD has certain contraindications, especially in regard to its reaction with heart medications or other prescribed medications.
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Observe relaxation strategies and behavior modification
A lot of behavior modifications have shown remarkable potential in alleviating dental nervousness. Some of them are effective home remedies, while others are recommended to be practiced under the supervision of an expert provider.
The best behavior modification strategies are:
- Positive reinforcement
- Exposure therapy
- Diversion (distracting the patient so they focus on something else other than the anxiety grip)
- Acupuncture
- Hypnotherapy (this has the potential to reduce pain in as much as 75% of patients).
- Biofeedback
- Guided imagery
On the other hand, the most useful relaxation techniques are:
- Relaxation response
- Diaphragmatic breathing or deep relaxation
- OST’s applied relaxation therapy
- Autogenic relaxation
- Functional relaxation technique
- Jacobson’s progressive muscular relaxation
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How about therapy dogs?
Apparently, finding a dentist who accepts therapy dogs in their practice might be the solution for an anxious patient. To back this up, a study carried out in 2018 revealed that having a therapy dog in the reception of a pediatric dental clinic helped to alleviate anxiety after only 15 minutes.
In another clinical experiment in 2019 – this time involving grown up patients – it was discovered that holding a therapy dog helped to reduce both the blood pressure and personal experience of the patients during the visit.
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Try nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide (which is different from nitric oxide) is general known as “laughing gas” by many dental patients. Thanks to its amnesiac property, nitrous oxide helps to decrease anxiety by keeping a patient’s mind away from their fears of a specific procedure.
Thankfully, this gas is very inert and it does not last for so long in the bloodstream. The moment you take about 3 to 5 breaths of pure oxygen, the gas would be completely out of your bloodstream. Keep in mind however that laughing gas is not cheap. So it may be less expensive to cross it out if you don’t need it.
Caution: the use of excessive laughing gas in children can result in vomiting or nausea. Additionally, individuals who are medically deficient in vitamin B12 should not be repeatedly given nitrous oxide. This is because, in very rare occasions, it can interfere with the absorption of B12.
In all, it is quite risky to ignore your fear of the dentist as it will only worsen your dental issues. Even if you have a near-perfect diet and observe excellent dental hygiene practices, the odds are high that you will still develop hardened calculus or tartar that will have to be removed to prevent the development of dental problems like gum disease, cavities, etc.
What are you waiting for? Visit our Harley street dental clinic today! Our experienced dentists will surely find a solution to your dental phobia