It’s normal to feel a little nervous about dental appointments, but if you’re overly scared, you might avoid scheduling everything from routine preventive visits to more complex procedures needed to preserve your smile.
Thankfully, many dentists understand that their patients might be afraid and will do everything they can to help you feel calm and relaxed throughout your visit. But there are also several things you can do to soothe your frayed nerves. Read on to learn 3 tips for reducing dental anxiety!
Tip #1: Breathe Deeply
Your body can’t always tell the difference between a real threat and an imagined one, and your fear about visiting the dentist might trigger your fight, flight, or freeze response. This involuntary reaction is a biological instinct built into your system to help you leap into action, flee from danger, or halt and hide long enough for it to pass. To do so, your brain releases stress hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, your heart rate increases, your muscles tense, and your breathing becomes short, rapid, and shallow.
Fortunately, you can let your system know that it’s not in immediate danger by taking long, slow breaths. This fills your lungs with oxygen, lowers the heart rate, reduces blood pressure, and triggers the parasympathetic nervous system to engage the “rest and digest” response instead.
Tip #2: Bring a Friend
Sometimes, the tension that builds while waiting for your procedure to begin is worse than the actual treatment itself. If you know that you tend to feel fidgety or nervous in the waiting room, it might help to bring a trusted friend or family member to be by your side.
For instance, you might have a loved one who enjoys making you laugh, which can help replace your dread with feelings of joy. As an added bonus, if you’ve been sedated and are unable to drive after your visit, your buddy can also help get you home safely!
Tip #3: Ask About Sedation
Anxious patients sometimes struggle to sit still long enough to complete their procedure, which can make it harder for your dentist to provide the treatments needed to protect or restore your dental health. Fortunately, many of them also offer medications, such as nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or oral conscious sedation to help you remain calm and relaxed throughout your service.
These drugs aren’t intended to ‘knock you out’ or function like a truth serum, but are meant to disrupt your body’s ability to respond to external stimuli to help prevent pain. Most patients remain sufficiently aware to respond to questions and directions, but are unlikely to remember the specifics of their procedure afterwards.
Trying one or more of these tips might provide just enough stress relief to help you get through your next appointment successfully!
About the Practice
Patients at Woodhill Family Dental benefit from two dentists with decades of combined experience helping them build and maintain beautiful, healthy smiles. Dr. Horton and Dr. Jack collaborate to provide a comprehensive menu of services, including dental sedation, to help meet even the most unique needs under one roof. Their compassionate approach is paired with state-of-the-art equipment to deliver more comfortable, accurate treatment results that you can trust. You can request an appointment on the website or by calling (214) 363-1406.