Cosmetic Dentistry For Nervous Patients

Cosmetic Dentistry For Nervous Patients

If you suffer from dental anxiety but would like to improve your smile, there are options available at our Canterbury practice which can help.

If there is one thing almost guaranteed in a routine day at Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic, it is that at least one, and very often more, nervous patients will walk through our doors. Dental anxiety, or phobia, is very common, and most people suffer from it to at least some degree. For most people, the anxiety simply means a slight apprehension, often caused by not knowing what the outcome of a check up will be or perhaps apprehension about an arranged treatment such as a filling. Most patients can cope with this though, and, while going to the dentist might not be a favourite thing to do, most people recognise that it is necessary to keep their teeth healthy.

For some people though, fear of the dentist can be much worse and even having a check up can cause significant concern. When a treatment such as a filling or something more extensive is required, it isn’t unusual for anxious patients to cancel an appointment. This is never good news however, and a number of these cancellations will result in ‘phone calls for an emergency appointment once the pain becomes unbearable.

Given this, patients who suffer from anxiety may well avoid cosmetic treatments altogether. After all, these aren’t usually ‘necessary’ for their oral health so why put yourself through it, even if it would mean a more attractive smile at the end? For those patients, we have compiled a list of some of the smile improvement treatments our Canterbury cosmetic dentists can offer that require no invasive treatments in most cases. We hope that this will help those of you who are afraid of treatments to improve your smile if this is something you’d like to achieve.

Teeth whitening

One of the most significant things that you can do to boost a smile is to whiten your teeth. Most of us will find that our teeth start to appear duller as we get older. This can be due to staining from the food and drinks that we consume, or simply through the ageing process which can cause them to lose their ‘sparkle’ and sometimes appear a little yellow too.

Our teeth whitening procedure is entirely non-invasive and painless. It can whiten your teeth by several shades and make a big improvement to your smile. If this is something that interests you, why not contact us for further information?

Orthodontics

Straighter teeth are always more attractive than crooked ones and often result in healthier teeth too as they are easier to keep clean and maintain. In the past, straightening your teeth would have meant wearing metal braces which could be uncomfortable and were certainly visible. These days, modern orthodontics such as Invisalign, use a series of transparent ‘trays’ that fit over your teeth and can be removed by the wearer when eating and for cleaning your teeth.

Straightening your teeth this way usually requires no invasive intervention. We will need to take impressions of your teeth which some people find a little uncomfortable but absolutely no pain should be felt. We are happy to talk to you about this if you would like straighter teeth and would like to know more before committing yourself.

Cosmetic bonding

Composite bonding uses a tooth coloured resin which bonds well with your natural teeth. Although this can be used for non cosmetic treatments such as to restore a chipped tooth. It can also be used cosmetically to close small gaps between the teeth, reshape teeth or even be used as a non-invasive alternative to dental veneers in some cases. This treatment is entirely non-invasive and can be effective for many purposes.

Dentures

Although we believe that teeth implants are by far the best way to replace a missing tooth, due to the fact that they replace the root as well, providing a stronger and more stable solution, we acknowledge that they do require an invasive treatment that can also sometimes be quite lengthy and may therefore not be ideal for anxious patients (although we do offer sedation which you can read about shortly).

In most cases, dentures require no invasive treatment although sometimes it may be necessary to remove some teeth in order to make them effective. If you have missing teeth, why not make an appointment to see if dentures will work for you? Dentures have been improved greatly over the years and offer an acceptable solution for replacing missing teeth.

Hygienist services

Although not strictly a ‘cosmetic’ treatment, seeing the dental hygienist every six months for a professional (and non-invasive) clean can help you in many ways. For one thing, it reduces the risk of problems like gum disease and tooth decay but also has the bonus of removing some surface staining from your teeth. The results will not be as obvious as with a teeth whitening procedure but can improve both your smile and your oral health at the same time; a ‘win win’ situation.

IV Sedation

One thing you might wish to consider if you are a nervous dental patient is to take advantage of the IV sedation that we offer our Canterbury patients. This is a very effective way of enabling you to relax completely during any procedure and could be used to widen your options both for general and cosmetic treatments. Take a look at the sedation page on our website, you might just find it useful for you.

We hope that you found this useful, and, if you do suffer from dental anxiety, please remember that you are not alone and we are experienced in treating nervous patients. Whether for general or cosmetic dentistry, we are here to help you. Why not contact us for an initial informal conversation to see how we can help you have a healthy mouth and perhaps, even a more attractive smile. You can contact us by calling the Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic on 01227 463529.