Are You Afraid To Go To The Dentist?

This past week Tavormina Dentistry has posted several articles on social media sites about dental fear and dental phobias.  So, we thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about this topic a bit on our blog.

It’s sometimes difficult to determine where the fear starts.  Sometimes there aren’t any bad experiences specifically to point to, and of course, unfortunately, sometimes there are.  When there is no apparent reason for the fear of going to the dentist, the fear may be related to feeling out of control sitting in the dentist’s chair and having to stay still and have the dentist work inside your mouth.  It can feel frightening for some people to have their space feel violated.  It’s important in such cases to have an understanding dentist with whom you have developed a signal for the dentist to stop working.  This is an easy way to regain control of the situation and develop trust.

From a treatment standpoint, dentistry has become easier than ever to provide with a pain free experience.  A combination of anesthesia, to put the area being worked on to sleep, combined, in some cases, with various means of sedation for the patient, to help the patient sleep too, can work wonders.

Our approach at Tavormina Dentistry is to be a partner with our patient to determine what they need for a comfortable experience.  We start conservatively with an option of teaching our patients relaxation techniques.  These techniques, for the patient who is willing, can teach the patient that they are in control of their experience.  People don’t realize how powerful their minds are in determining what their experience is. 

For patients who do not want to learn relaxation techniques, but who want to feel very relaxed while having their dentistry, we have laughing gas, also called nitrous oxide.  This is a very safe alternative that let’s someone feel very happy while having dentistry, and also enables the patient to be able to drive themselves home.

For patients who want to fall asleep or be very sleepy during their dental visit, there is oral conscious sedation.  Oral medication is given and it is very effective in having most people fall asleep during their dentistry and also have no memory of the dental procedures.

For those patients who are afraid that they will not fall asleep, there is intravenous conscious sedation.  We have a board certified anesthesiologist administer the IV sedation and monitor our patients who want the assurance that the depth of their sedation can be controlled and deepened as needed.

As you can see, with patience and understanding you can find a partnership with a dentist so that you no longer have to be afraid of going to the dentist, or at least won’t let the fear

stop you.

For more details visit DrTav.com or call us at 973-761-5090.  We'd love to help.