Dental Phobia – Your Options For A More Relaxing Visit

How nervous dental patients in the Canterbury area can benefit from our services.

Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic was first established in 1880. It is fair to say that, since that time,  many patients have entered our practice in various states of anxiety about their dental visit. It must have been even worse for earlier patients too, with any form of anaesthetic being either rudimentary or non-existent.

Naturally, as time has passed, local anaesthetics have improved, and an increasing number of people seeking treatment have been able to do so with a reduced level of anxiety in the knowledge that any discomfort will be minimised. Advances in dental knowledge and training of dentists has meant that people now feel more confident when they enter a dental clinic. This is not true of everyone though and even those of us who regularly go for check ups etc might still feel a few butterflies as our appointment approaches. In today’s blog, we will take a look at what we can do to help our more nervous dental patients receive their treatment as comfortably as possible.

Initial welcome

We know that some patients feel a sinking feeling as they walk towards their local dental practice. You can be sure though, that we will greet you with a warm and friendly smile as you walk through our doors. Our staff are trained to speak to you in a calm and relaxing manner and be as helpful as possible. We hope that this helps to ease your nerves as you wait in our comfortable waiting room until such time as you are called in for your treatment.

We also encourage anyone who experiences any significant level of anxiety about dentistry to let us know of this. This provides useful information for the dentist who will then be aware that you might need a little extra care.

Your treatment

We use the latest equipment at Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic to ensure that we can offer the best treatment possible. This means not only highly efficient dental drills but also scanners that allow us to accurately assess any problems that you might have and treat them appropriately.

If you feel, at any point during your procedure, that you need to ‘take a breather’, we advise that you raise your hand, the opposite side to where the dentist is sitting (so that you don’t knock their hand). This can allow you to take a few seconds to compose yourself if you are starting to feel particularly anxious at that moment.

Our dentists will also be happy to discuss the treatment, including what will happen, should you wish to do so. Understanding the procedure can help some people, although not everyone wants to know. The choice is up to you.

Intravenous sedation

While the above helps most patients to relax a little more, there are patients whose anxiety levels surrounding their treatment are so high that they may even consider cancelling an appointment. This is obviously a bad idea and one that can lead to more advanced problems that eventually require a more invasive procedure.

For these patients, and for anyone undergoing a longer treatment such as the placing of a dental implant, we are now able to offer the use of intravenous sedation, or ‘IV’ sedation as it is sometimes known. This does not put you to sleep, as the older style general sedation used to do but allows you to undergo your treatment in a very relaxed manner.

The sedative is introduced into your bloodstream through a vein in your arm or in the back of your hand. This should cause little or no discomfort. Shortly afterwards, you will start to feel very relaxed indeed. As this effect takes hold, we will then administer a local anaesthetic to keep you as comfortable as possible while the treatment takes place. During this time, you will not be asleep and will be able to answer any questions that your local dentist might ask while carrying out the procedure. Many patients report that time seems to pass very quickly too, and before you know it, your procedure will be over.

Important sedation information

If you wish to have intravenous sedation, you will be asked a number of questions to ensure that you are able to have this. For example, if you are pregnant, we will not be able to provide this. Anyone breastfeeding will need to allow sufficient time for the sedative to leave them before breastfeeding again. Don’t worry though; we will discuss all of this with you, should you wish to take up this option.

It is also important that you bring a responsible adult with you to get you home safely afterwards as you may feel a little ‘woozy’ for a while. You must definitely not drive following it and we recommend that you take time off work, to allow it to leave your system. Even taking public transport is likely to be difficult so make sure that someone comes with you who can take you safely home afterwards.

For any further advice about IV sedation, please contact our Canterbury dental clinic by calling us on 01227 463529.