It’s a well-known fact that people fear no doctor as much as the dentist. Just mentioning the dentist is enough to trigger a panic attack. Even doctors themselves tremble with fear when they end up in the dental chair. Notably, it’s often only unbearable pain that makes people go to the dentist. How can we make a visit to the dentist, if not pleasant, then at least not so terrible? To do this, we need to understand our fears and follow a few tips.
Don’t arrive before your appointment time.
Today every decent clinic sees patients by appointment, so there’s absolutely no need to arrive half an hour early, listen to the drill and the various sounds coming from the treatment room, and end up stressing yourself out with the wait. Arriving 10 minutes early is quite enough to get ready (tidy up, take off your coat).
The first visit is only a consultation (unless you came in with unbearable pain).
The advantage of a consultation is that you know nothing scary will happen and you have nothing to worry about. A consultation lets you find out what the doctor will do at the next visit, so you’ll have time to prepare. As is well known, the unexpected is one of the factors that causes fear.
If you’ve had unpleasant experiences at the dentist before, be sure to tell your new doctor about them.
What keeps most patients from visiting the dentist is a bad experience in the past. People put off going to the dentist and try all kinds of folk remedies on themselves. Share your story with the doctor – it will partly ease your fear, and the doctor will get the information they need so as not to repeat a colleague’s mistake and to make your visit as comfortable as possible.
If the doctor hasn’t earned your trust, feel free to ask for a different one.
If you have doubts about the doctor’s competence, distrust only gets in the way of treatment. So it’s better to see another specialist than to turn treatment into a “nightmare”. If your request is worded and delivered properly and contains no offensive hints, you will always get the help you need.
Fear and nervousness can be reduced with sedatives.
Nervousness is a natural part of visiting the dentist. So taking sedatives before the visit is acceptable. Don’t refuse if the doctor offers you a “calming cocktail”. And if you’ve taken something beforehand (e.g. valerian tincture), don’t forget to tell your doctor what medication you took, in what dose and how long before treatment.
