Tips to Overcome Your Dental Anxiety

2nd September 2016

Tips to Overcome Your Dental Anxiety

Going to the dentist can be an extremely daunting and troublesome task for most people. They experience anxiety that causes them to avoid going for long periods of time, and usually that only makes the anxiety worse for when it does come time to go. The following are some techniques that will help to reduce the anxiety felt when going to the dentist.

1.) Finding the Right Dentist
Sometimes, anxiety can be produced from having a dentist that you don’t like. It can help to calm the nerves by going in for a consultation to just talk with the dentist. There is nothing wrong with visiting a few dentists before deciding on one who is likable. Being able to get along with your dentist and have conversations to calm your nerves will help with the anxiety. Not every dentist will be the right fit, and that is okay. What matters is finding the right one for you!

2.) Distraction
If the anxiety is mostly involving the dental procedures, then do things to distract your mind while they are occurring. Bringing a pair of headphones so you can listen to music will both block out the scary sounds and keep you calmer with your favourite music selection. If there is a TV in the room, focusing on that will also be a great distraction from the procedure going on.

3.) Relaxation Techniques
When experiencing anxiety, there are a few relaxation techniques that can help to relax the body. Starting with a breathing technique will calm the heart rate and help curb your anxiety. The breathing technique that is the simplest starts with breathing in through your mouth for three seconds, and ends with breathing out through your nose for three seconds. This three second breathing technique is simple enough and will help to reduce anxiety tremendously.

4.) Talk to your Dentist.
Many times those experiencing anxiety are coming to the worst conclusions in their mind about what is going to happen. Talk to the dentist about what to expect from the dental procedure that is going to occur. It is also acceptable to ask about getting a numbing agent, because different people have different pain rates. It is important that the dentist make sure you are comfortable before trying to do any procedures.

Using techniques like distraction and relaxation will help to calm anxiety during the process, while finding the right doctors and talking to them about what to expect can help reduce anxiety before actually sitting down in the dentist’s chair. It is important that you do not avoid going to the dentist because of anxiety, because this will only cause your teeth to become unhealthier. This also means that when the time eventually comes that you must go to the dentist, it is likely that more procedures will have to be done. Taking care of your teeth and getting regular check-ups will reduce the number of procedures that must be done and the anxiety which comes along with it.