A lot of people have a phobia of the dentist. A lot of the time this can stem from a previous bad experience when young, or you may just have always hated the dentist.

Unfortunately, this fear can lead to people avoiding the dentist, and this then leads to a worsening of their dental problems. There are a few things that you can do to cope with the fear.

1) Find a gentle dentist. You can get recommendations of family or look at online reviews of local dentists on facebook or google. Dentist’s that have worked with children are often quite good with working with nervous adults as well.
2) Get to know your dentist. Ideally, you want to start with a simple check-up. You can talk through your fears with your dentist and make a plan of how best to proceed.
3) Start with something simple and work up to the bigger treatment as your confidence increases.
4) Distractions- If the noise bothers you can take some headphones and turn up your music loud. In our surgery, we have a T.V on the ceiling that works as a good distraction. If you are good at yoga or meditation, you can practice your breathing exercises.
5) Stay in control- We always advise patients to raise their hand if they want us to stop at any time. This signal allows you to be in control of treatment and take breaks if needed.
6) Laughing gas- We provide ‘happy gas’ for nervous patients. This laughing gas is the same as the ‘gas and air’ used by ladies in labour. This gas doesn’t knock you out, but helps relax you, making treatment easier to get through. You can drive home as normal after having the laughing gas.
7) General Anaesthetic- If you really can’t cope with treatment in the surgery or if you require a lot of work, we can arrange a general anaesthetic.

All of our dentists at Ocean Breeze Dental have experience working with nervous patients. Contact us on 5255 2584 or you can book online at www.oceanbreezedental.com.au. Don’t let your fears hold you back from a confident and comfortable smile.