It’s Okay to Be Frightened

We all know how important teeth are in our daily lives and how their sensitivity is a natural party of our anatomy. Our teeth provide us with a “sense” of touch that, in combination with, our senses of smell and taste, give us the ability to tell one food from another. That sense is critical to our very survival. That very sensitivity of our teeth which is so important to us, can be the root of “special” pain when we get a toothache.

Even patients who have experienced other pain and overcome it, seem unable to overcome their fear of visiting the dentist. The root of their difficulties is one or more bad experiences at a dentist’s office and interestingly, the more “powerful” the patient, the greater the difficulty. People who are used to having control of and in their lives are the very people for whom breaking the cycle is the most difficult, because they experience a lack of control in the dentist’s chair.

The key is to breaking the cycle of fear is a two-step process. First, we give control back to the patient in the dental environment. We do that by explaining in detail, before every procedure what we will be doing and the step by step order of the treatment process. We also explain, in advance, what the treatment will cost and what, if any, post-treatment procedures the patient needs to follow, and what discomfort, if any, he or she may expect to experience. We also make certain that the patient knows exactly how much the treatment will cost, what results can be expected and how things will “feel” when we are done.

The second part of the process to reduce dental anxiety involves reduction or elimination of pain during and after dental procedures. While the treatment is in progress, we “allow” the patient to monitor his or her discomfort and signal us when we should stop, so they may take a “breather.” If the patient wishes and it is medically appropriate, we use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) during procedures to alleviate pain and reduce anxiety. For some patients pre-medication during their first few visits works really well to help them conquer their fears which are based on previous bad experiences.

We make it our job to get to know each patient personally. We make it our job to discuss any dentistry-related issues each may have, before treatment begins. We know that being afraid of pain is a normal reaction and never belittle those feelings. Giving a patient a good experience many times over is the best “cure” for dental phobias. We probably can’t make our patients like visiting us, but we can make it a more pleasant experience.