Ever since you were a young child, you’ve been afraid of the dentist in North Liberty, Iowa. The reasons for your fears include a terrible experience or two during treatment and a care specialist whom you just didn’t enjoy visiting. However, dental care is essential for your overall health, and you swallow your pride and go every 4-6 months to ensure that your mouth is protected.
However, the anxiety you feel is almost unbearable and is really starting to get you down. In this situation, you have a few options that you can consider. You can either change up who you visit to see if another dental professional won’t make you nervous. Or you can tackle the underlying anxieties that influence your fear and follow the tips below to learn how to enjoy visiting a dental care provider.
Understand Your Fears are Common
If you have a fear of dental treatment, know that you aren’t the only one. A number of people have very intense concerns about therapy for a variety of reasons. First of all, they are afraid of needles – which are used in a range of dental care treatments – or simply fear the pain caused by this type of treatment. While this might not seem that comforting at first, knowing that other people feel the same way can make this situation a lot easier for you to handle.
For example, you can sit down with your care provider and talk about your fears and let them know how you feel. Letting them know is preferable to hiding your fears – keeping your anxiety hidden will only make it worse and your dental professional won’t understand what happens if you lose your cool and freak out during a visit. Letting them know will give them an insight into what to expect from you while they treat your teeth.
Your dental professional may know of a group that you can meet with to discuss your fears. While this might seem excessive, learning how others dealt with their fear is often a great way to understand why you are so afraid of your treatment. They can also provide you with coping techniques that can help you overcome your fear and become a happy visitor. Speaking of coping mechanisms, let’s move on to a few that you can utilize during your care.
Practice Coping Methods
Now that you understand how common fear of dental visits is in the general public, you can take the time to learn how to cope with your anxiety. Merely understanding that others are worried won’t necessarily make your visit more comfortable. It will, however, take the edge off and give you the ability to prepare for your trip in a multitude of ways. If you’re smart, you can use these coping methods to not only manage your anxiety as it occurs but can replace fear with positive feelings.
First of all, you can start trying to relax even before you go to the dentist. Perform meditation while you’re at home in the hours before your visit. You can also relax and breathe deeply to calm your mind and ease your anxiety. On the way to the office, you can listen to music that calms you – such as piano music by Chopin – to avoid the agitation that builds up as you near the office. Mindfulness is essential, here, as you can keep track of how you feel at all times and adjust your emotions.
For example, you can spot moments where you feel anxious and then immediately perform relaxation techniques to calm your nerves. If you know when you are anxious, you can use logic and intelligence to assuage your fears. Letting your anxiety build will spiral it up into an inescapable ball that can be very hard from which to escape. Knowing when you are worried and how to manage it can ensure that you get to the office safely and happily.
While you’re sitting at the office, you should practice coping methods before you visit the dentist. For example, you can meditate, listen to calming music, or think of happy places that put you in a good mood. These actions aren’t ignoring reality – you’re in the office and surrounded by evidence of where you are – but replace your unnecessary anxiety and fear with happiness. Eventually, you’ll start feeling these emotions instead of stress when you visit.
Consider the Benefits of Sedation
Although you’ve calmed much of your anxiety about the dentist and have become better during your visits, you still have a hard time with some elements of the trip. The worst part by far is sitting in the chair and listening to the drill hit your teeth. Though your care provider properly numbs your mouth and keeps you pain-free during the procedure, the sound of the drill is very unnerving.
Even worse, you simply can’t feel comfortable with somebody staring into your mouth. Though your dental care provider is a very friendly person and easy to get along with during your treatments, you still have a hard time tolerating watching them treating you. In this scenario, you may want to seriously consider working with a dental care expert who provides sedation options.
Sedation dental professionals will carefully put you under during the procedure and adjust your flow of anesthesia to ensure that you are safe and asleep the whole time. After your care is done, you are placed in a recovery room. This option is a good choice if your coping techniques fail during a visit and you’re about to have a panic attack.
Don’t Let Fear Rule Your Life
Fear can be an influential motivating factor for change, but excessive anxiety during a trip to a dental care professional is not doing anyone any good. As a result, you need to do what you can to minimize your anxious state during each of your visits. The tips we just suggested should get you started on your way, but you still have a lot of work to do before you’re ready to tackle this rodeo on your own.
So if you plan on visiting a dentist in the North Liberty, Iowa area soon, make sure that you follow these simple techniques. Most people will assuage their fears and learn how to go to their dental care provider without anxiety or fear. If you find that the problem is mostly with a specific treatment specialist, you may want to visit someone else to see if you get better results.