Anxious Patients: Step-by-Step to Ensuring the Right Treatment
In addition to the usual nervousness before a dental appointment, many patients also deal with dental anxieties or phobias. For many of these patients their fear is so bad that they receive dental care less than once per year. It is understandable that anxiety may also grow worse with each delayed or cancelled visit, especially if the ailment worsens with time. We want to help you avoid delaying treatment of your dental maladies to ensure that your treatment options do not become limited with increasing severity.
Our goal isn't just to provide you the best dental care, but also to help address any fears or discomforts together with you. We take dental anxieties very seriously and will accompany you each step of the way. Empathy and trust are just as important as transparency, and being up front about the procedures you will undergo. We are happy to take the time to discuss each step together so that all questions or concerns may be addressed – and each step proceeds with your assent.
Gentle and Painless Through Compromise and Experience
Your first visit with us will focus on getting to know one another and answering any questions. We have developed a special questionnaire for anxiety patients to help support this type of visit. During this time we will also try to discover the reason for your anxiety or phobia. Often, these are the result of previous experiences gone badly or fear of pain. Together we will then agree on some strategies for making your next visit more comfortable. In this way we are able to ensure that our patients feel comfortable attending regular dental check-ups.
A gentle, painless visit is our topmost priority. Laughing gas (nitrous oxide) is a great option for patients whose anxiety is rooted in the sense of losing control. Sedation with laughing gas will keep you relaxed while remaining aware and able to speak with us. More information on this procedure, which is considered standard practice in many modern countries, can be found here.
More information regarding treatments under general anaesthesia can be found here. Patients with anxiety are welcome in our practice—visitors will find our staff patient and understanding of their needs. We have a goal in common with our anxious patients: we strive for them to leave as patients and not anxious patients.
