Many people are nervous of the dentist, If you are the same we have some things you can do to help to deal with your dental anxiety as well as help from us at Putney Hill Dental.
If you are feeling fearful of visiting the dentist you can ask to speak to the team beforehand. Our friendly team in Putney will help reassure you and we always respect your boundaries and concerns. The below are some ways to calm your nerves before going to a dentist or during your dental visit.
It may help your dental phobia if you pop in and have a chat with our team without having a dental appointment. This allows you to familiarise yourself with the people (we are just people!) and the dental practice.
Gone are the days when the practice smells like the dentist, now we have relaxing diffusers spreading calming scents into the waiting area.
Start with smaller treatments or an examination first. It’s a good way of getting used to the dentist. Whilst seeing the dentist focusing on on 5 things you can see and 4 things you can hear to help relax and distract you.
Focus on the positive goals of treatment and the benefits it will have despite being nervous about the dentist whether it’s from a health or cosmetic point of view.
At Putney hill dental, Putney we put you in control and you can stop treatment any time you decide. We work with you to have hand signals so we know when to stop.
Clinical hypnosis is a technique of deep relaxation meant to modify your fear of the dentist. Our dentist Munir Ravalia lectures, teaches and has a published paper in this field. We will be talking about clinical hypnosis in upcoming blog.
Yes we can! We normally recommend dental sedation. This is a safe and proven technique to help you have dental treatment with no pain and has an amnesiac effect meaning that you don’t remember the treatment afterwards.
Dental sedation is a great way of helping you with your dental anxiety and helps you overcome triggers like needles or the dental drill.It can be given via gas and air, a tablet, a syrup or intravenously.
We do get asked the question can a dentist put you to sleep for fillings. The answer is yes with general anaesthesia in a hospital setting. There are however dangers in giving general anaesthesia and we would always try conscious sedation to relax and sedate you safely first.
We find patients commonly want root canal treatments and extractions under sedation. These treatments tend to cause the most dental anxiety as they are potentially the most unpleasant.
Schedule an appointment with our sedation expert Dr Munir Ravalia who has been providing sedation for 15 years and writes papers and teaches on the subject. He is also a qualified dentist who carries out a full range of dentistry including a vast about of experience in removing teeth surgically and non surgically.
Call us on 0208 788 2727 or email on info@putneyhilldentalpractice.co.uk or book an appointment directly here.