No one likes going to the dentist — after all, the thought of someone else snooping around in your mouth isn’t pleasant. It’s pretty common to feel stressed at the dentist’s office, but for some people, that stress can escalate to a phobia.
Dental anxiety can cause a host of dental problems. Many people who struggle with this anxiety will only visit the dentist when they absolutely need to. But rushing to the dentist due to an emergency only makes the patient’s anxiety worse. Emergency experiences are never pleasant and can add more stress to a trying situation.
If someone is already nervous about going to the dentist, making an appointment for something far worse than a simple cleaning isn’t the solution. Their opinion of dentists is only going to worsen in situations like this, creating an unpleasant case for the patient and dentist.
Managing your dental anxiety isn’t easy, but it can be done, and you don’t have to rely on sedatives to make it through an appointment, either. An easy way to minimize anxiety is to show up to your appointment on time — never early. Although this strategy may seem too simple to work, it minimizes the time you spend in the waiting room. The longer a patient sits, the more time they have to mull over any previous bad experiences, imagine things that could go wrong, or anticipate the expected discomfort.
Communicate your anxiety to your dentist. Getting to know your dentist and their process can lower stress levels and uncertainty, and your dentist may have suggestions on how to make you comfortable once they know how nervous you are. Talking through the procedure beforehand and afterward will help you understand what to expect and what’s already happened.
Dental anxiety can make the dentist’s office seem like the worst place in the world. But with a little confidence and a tactful approach, nobody should have to suffer from poor dental hygiene because of it.