Millions of people suffer from dental office anxiety, and there are many different reasons why. In certain cases, dental office anxiety can be so severe that it prevents a person from visiting a dentist for multiple years. If you’re battling an intense fear of going to the dentist, there are strategies that you can use to help alleviate the distress. These are three simple ways that will help you overcome your dental office anxiety.
Always Schedule Early Appointments
Appointment time doesn’t seem like a big deal, but for the anxious patient, it is. When you schedule a dental appointment for later in the day, you have much more time to worry and ruminate over it. Essentially, the more time you spend worrying about something, the more your anxiety will grow. Schedule appointments as early as possible to avoid overly obsessing about them.
Find a Great Dentist
It might come as a surprise that your anxiety could heavily hinge on who you choose as your regular dentist. Some dentists, like those from Health Centered Dentistry, are better than others at helping their patients feel comfortable when undergoing checkups or procedures. The best way to find the right dentist for you is to ask around with friends and family. You might even want to visit a healthcare facility to find out about the different dentists in your area. Online reviews will also likely allude to whether or not a dentist works well with patients who have anxiety.
Agree Upon a Safe Word or Signal
Before allowing your dentist to get started with your checkup or procedure, talk to them about using a safe word or signal to indicate that you want them to stop what they’re doing. This signal can be as simple as a wave of your hand. This method not only grants you a greater sense of control over the situation at hand, but it also provides comfort for you in knowing that you won’t ever become too overwhelmed while in the dentist’s chair. Simply enough, if you don’t feel comfortable, you can quickly force a break to process your anxiety.
It’s important to keep in mind that no strategy will alleviate your anxiety overnight. However, as you put these strategies to use on a regular basis, your comfort level with visiting the dentist will gradually increase. Anxiety of any type is virtually never easy to work through, but with determination and effort on your part, you can equip yourself with the tools to overcome it.
