Tips For Managing Your Dental Anxiety

Posted on: 4 September 2019

Some people get extremely anxious when they have an upcoming dental appointment. The anxiety can make them go through the appointment in a tense state or even miss up the appointment altogether. If you are such a person, take the following measures to help you deal with your dental anxiety. 

Tell Your Dentist

Dentists have various ways of helping anxious patients calm down. Unfortunately, your dentist might not know that you have dental phobia if you don't tell them about it. Therefore, the first thing is to inform your dentist about your anxiety so that they can help you calm down. Don't be embarrassed about it; dental phobia is relatively common, and the dentist has witnessed their fair share of anxious patients.

Adopt Relaxation Techniques

There are various relaxation techniques you can use to calm down if the anxiety kicks in. You need to learn and practice these relaxation techniques long before you go to the dental office. For example, you can try deep breathing techniques, meditation, and voluntary muscle relaxation, among others. Different techniques work for different people, and you may also need more than one technique calm down.

Distract Yourself

Some people get anxious during a dental treatment when they see what the dentist is doing. Dental instruments, in particular, can be scary to some people. If you are such a person, then you can distract yourself while the dentist goes about their work. For example, you can watch videos (many dental offices have screens), you can engage the dentist in a story, or you can even listen to a podcast depending on your treatment.

Get Involved in the Treatment Process

While some people get anxious by getting too involved in their treatment process, others get anxious if they don't get involved. Fear of the unknown can be very powerful, and if this is the case for you, you need to get involved in your treatment process right from the consultation period. Let the dentist explain to you what they will be doing or explain the treatment step-by-step as they work on your mouth.

Have a Friendly Face in the Room

Lastly, some people have also managed to deal with their dental anxiety by having a familiar face in the room during the treatment. Inform your dentist that you need to have a friend, partner, or sibling in the room to help you come down. The familiar face doesn't have to be involved in the process; they just need to be present. 

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