How to overcome dental anxiety?

Many of us do not look forward to going to dental appointments. Most of the dental procedures are not even painful but just the thought of getting yourself examined by a dentist can make you stressed. The basic level of anxiety already starts with giving the dentist access to your sensitive gums and vulnerable airways. About one third of the world’s population experiences aversion to their dentists. But one in ten people suffer from specific fears referred to as odontophobia/dentophobia. The general cause of these anxieties may be their fear of pain, distress due to helplessness and lack of control and negative experiences during previous visits.

However, some of the dental phobias experienced by people are so strong that they will avoid going to dentists completely, compromising their oral health. So, here are a few suggestions for those people who can free themselves from their dental anxieties with slight modifications in their general attitudes and practices:

      1. Be open about your fears and anxieties with your dentist and help your dentist to put you at ease during your appointments.

      2. Try out relaxing exercises such as controlled breathing techniques, listening to music to preoccupy your mind just before your appointment.

      3. Severe dental anxieties require external interventions such as sedation techniques. Employing anesthetic drugs orally, intravenously or in gaseous forms can do wonders for your phobias.

      4. Consulting a clinical psychologist and getting counseling is also another way wherein the root cause of your dental fears can be explored and treated.

      5.  Taking the help of support groups and visiting website portals where you have access to all those people who have experienced or still experiencing dental anxieties can actually help you overcome your phobias.

Further, compromising oral health can have an overall impact on your health adversely.  Putting off a dental visit can get your tooth and gums chronically infected which further affects the ability to chew and digest food properly, can affect our speech patterns and is also reported to have lead to heart diseases. So, face your fears and lead a healthy life.

To know more about sedation dentistry ,contact Green Meadow Dental at 3579 B Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT 06111, phone: (860)- 865- 0056 or keep reading our blogs! Many people from Portland come to our office because we are conveniently located next to Target.  Our flexible hours and family dental practice makes it easy for busy families to schedule visits for both parents and children.We also serve patients from surrounding areas including West Hartford, Meriden and Farmington.