Dental anxiety or fear of dentists - probably are more common than arachnophobia. Despite their age, people are often afraid of such simple and necessary activities as dental visits.
Fortunately, Dr. Smita Mehra - dentist from The Neem Tree Dental Practice, London, UK - explained this phenomenon and made a list of useful tips to help you beat your dental anxiety.
1. Breath
It's well known that stress and fear cause shortness of breath, affecting your neural system and making you uncomfortable. This biological mechanism is useful and usually helps us to move and think faster in dangerous situations - but sometimes (like in the case of a dental cabinet) - it's switched on by a common trigger.
To fix it, you should take your breath under control - sit down on the dental chair and focus on your breathing. Take a slow, deep breath using your nose, and keep your chest and shoulders still. Thus, you will breathe using full lung capacity, making it possible to control your nervous system.
2. Find a comfortable dentist
If you have such an opportunity - visit a dentist before scheduling the treatment. You should decide if you are comfortable with this person to be confident that you can avoid unnecessary discomfort during dental procedures. Trust is crucial in the sense of calmness.
If you have strong predispositions to dental anxiety - then inform your doctor. A good specialist will adapt your next appointment according to your needs by explaining the treatment details and speaking with you during the operation. Verbal communication with the specialist is important for your sense of safety.
3. Stop signal
Once you find your favorite dentist, discuss the special signs that can help you communicate even when your mouth is busy. Thus, you can control the situation by letting the doctor know when you feel pain, when you need to rest from drilling, etc.
4. Distract yourself
Some dental hardware sounds terrible - many people start to panic once they hear the drill buzzing. If you are one of them - you should ask your dentist if you can bring the headphones to the treatment and use them during therapy to avoid the scary "dental ambient."
5. Treat yourself
Dental anxiety is often caused by bad associations. To fix it, you should reward yourself after you visit the dentist: do some shopping or take a walk with your friends. Briefly - after treatment, you should do something that can give you pleasure and good emotions.
Few words for doctors
These tips are also useful for dentists - statistically, you'll definitely meet a patient with this phobia, so you should be prepared to help deal with it. Be patient and honest - keep your client posted about what you will do during the operation, what the patient will fill, why it is necessary, etc.
