Special Dentist for Nervous Patients – Do You Have A Dental Phobia?

December 28, 2021

Hello and welcome to this blog all about dental phobia! If you suffer from dental phobia we want to make you feel empowered with the knowledge that dentists are here to help and even share some tips on how to find the right dentist.

Firstly, what is dental anxiety?

Dental anxiety is the fear of dentists, dental practices or dental treatment. Many people are fearful of the dentist, and for most, it’s with good reason. Many people have had a negative experiences with dentists. Most people who use dentist meet actually come in and say ‘I’m scared of the dentist’ and we’ve also found out there’s even a dental fear forum online!

How to get over a dental phobia?

I think at this point it’s important to say that phobias are not something that just disappears, they take time to reduce. To reduce or begin to tackle these fears you can do a couple of things, let’s do that together!

If your dentist doesn’t make you feel comfortable, we’d recommend switching as you need to feel fully confident and trusting in your dentist. If you’re with an NHS practice and want to swap you can do some research on NHS practices around you and enquire with them. We recommend asking the dental practice about their procedure with nervous patients, this should give you an idea of how they’ll look after you. Keep in mind many NHS dental practices have waiting lists so you may need to enquire with a few. Alternatively, you may find private is more accommodating for you.

Ask your friends and family for dentist recommendations. Considering many people have/had a dental phobia or worse, extreme dental phobia they may have a recommendation of a dentist who makes them feel at ease. Often word of mouth is the best way to find dental practices, but when you get a recommendation make sure you check them out online to verify the referral.

Make sure you’re attending frequent check-ups. Whilst it may be uncomfortable or scary to visit your dentist, we strongly advise that you do. Many issues can be caught at an infant stage to prevent more intense and extensive treatments from being carried out. Dentists will always tell you prevention is better than cure. This also applies to your dental hygiene and health. It is especially important for those people who don’t attend frequent check-ups and hygiene appointments to maintain good cleaning at home.

Lastly, if you have a dentist who you are comfortable with, or maybe you’ve just switched dentists, tell them about what makes you nervous. They will be able to help by avoiding/altering certain checks. They can also guide you through what they’re doing if that makes you feel calmer. Remember your dentist is there for you!

As we wrap this blog let’s cover some of the things you should look for in a good, reputable dentist.

1. You do not feel rushed at your dental appointments
2. They are accommodating of your fears
3. They are clear and help you to understand the cost of treatment
4. They give you choice over your treatment and discuss it with you in a professional way.

We hope this has helped you; the main takeaway for anyone with a dental phobia is to find a caring dentist who will metaphorically hold your hand through the experience.