Worried about attending a dental check-up? Ways our dentist in Sydney can help you to relax

If you are like 1 in 7 dental patients, the idea of attending a check-up can cause you to sweat bullets.

While dental care has advanced in recent years and has become more gentle, many people still harbour a deep dislike of dental check-ups, with as many as 1 in 7 patients having a phobia of getting into the dental chair.

Luckily, while techniques have advanced to make dental care more comfortable, practitioners’ attitudes have also been tweaked. Almost every dental team is now able to offer even the most nervous of patients a friendly and compassionate experience at their surgeries, with some even working with their patients to help them overcome their phobia.

At Spa Dental, our dentist in Sydney will work with you to help you feel more at ease in our surgery.  We can offer you things like non-clinical appointments to help you become acquainted with our team, and also provide advice on how to manage your anxiety in the chair. We do not take dental phobia lightly and want to ensure that all of our patients receive the highest level of dental care, to keep their gums and teeth in top condition for the rest of their life.

But how can our dentist in Sydney help you to overcome your phobia? Here are some of the methods that we can employ.

Communication

One way our dentist in Sydney achieves this is with the non-clinical meeting which was mentioned earlier, which will allow you to discuss your worries with our team without getting into the chair.

Once you are happy to proceed with an examination, we can work on ways for you to signal to us when you want us to stop so you can take a break; typically this will be a hand signal. As before, each assessment is at your pace and can be stopped as and when you want it to be.

Distraction

Does the sound of the drill make you nervous?

Our team is more than happy for our patients to wear a headset while they are in the chair, to drown out the noise of the drill. Why not listen to some relaxing music or even a guided meditation, to help you associate being in the dental chair with feeling calm?

Oral sedation

While our team cannot provide this to you, it is recommended that if your anxiety is strong that you talk to your doctor about an oral sedative.

Just let our team know that you have taken this mediation before the appointment.

IV sedation

We can offer intravenous sedation, which will render you partially unconscious for the duration of your check-up.

We must insist however that you bring someone with you to escort you home afterwards and that you do not operate heavy machinery for 24 hours following sedation.

Anaesthetic

If you would rather be completely unconscious, we can arrange for you to attend a local day hospital where you can be knocked out via anaesthetic and a dental examination and any associated treatments can be performed.

DISCLAIMER

All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to ensure that the treatment is right for you.