Dental anxiety is a common fear among dental patients. While some patients experience mild anxiety, others experience severe anxiety that makes visiting dentists impossible. Here are three tips to ease dental anxiety. 

Communicate With Your Dentist

Now that you’re in the chair, it’s important to share all of your concerns and questions with your dental team. Feel free to speak up if something isn’t working for you or if you’re experiencing any pain. When you communicate with your dentist, you help create a more relaxed and enjoyable appointment for everyone. You also give your dentist the opportunity to provide any information that can help put you at ease.

At your appointment, don’t be afraid to ask about what’s being done and why it’s necessary. Remember, you’re always welcome to stop by our office to ask us questions or let us know what’s going on so that we can help you overcome your anxiety. Your dentist and the entire team are more than happy to give you any additional information you need. Just give us a call!

Discuss Pain Management Options

Although there are different methods for managing pain, we will always discuss what we feel is best for you during your consultation. Often, this involves a combination of methods to ensure the best comfort possible for you.

For mild pain relief, we can recommend an over-the-counter medication. However, it is important that you let us know what medications you are currently taking. Some pain medications interfere with the effectiveness of anesthesia during treatment. Your dentist may also recommend nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. This sedation method works very quickly to calm your nerves and numb your mouth. Nitrous oxide is completely safe and wears off within minutes after use.

Even if you don’t experience discomfort with your procedure, you may need something to help calm your nerves. In these cases, we can prescribe an oral sedative to take shortly before your appointment. Oral sedatives can help you relax or even put you to sleep for your procedure.

Explore Sedation Dentistry

Are you experiencing anxiety about dental care? If so, sedation dentistry can help. Our dentist offers two types of sedation dentistry – nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation. Both are safe and effective and can help you overcome your fear of the dentist. 

Nitrous oxide is administered through a mask during your treatment. You will enjoy the calm that it provides while being able to respond to our team as needed. Oral conscious sedation involves taking a sedative pill that will relax you throughout your appointment. You will need a driver to bring you to and from our office once you are under the medication’s effects. You may not remember parts of your appointment or have any memory of it at all. Either option can help you feel less nervous and more at ease during your next appointment. 

At Point Loma Family Dentistry, our team is dedicated to providing you with excellent dental care in a relaxing atmosphere. To know more about treatments offered by our dentist, call us at (619) 223-3811 and schedule an appointment to visit the dental practice.