How to Get a Great Smile

Posted on: 28 May 2017

Contemplating a visit to the dentist can be an incredibly stressful experience for some people. This can be attributed to a number of factors. Previous negative experiences understandably invoke intense anxiety in some individuals, and postponing or completely avoiding a visit to the dentist becomes a convenient option.

For some, especially children, it may be due to a lack of understanding. They simply cannot see why they have to lie on a chair with a beam of light shining on their face while someone in a white coat examines their mouth with strange looking instruments.

A visit to the dentist does not need to be such a terrifying experience. There are strategies for alleviating these fears, depending on the individual's needs and level of understanding. Adequate preparation is, of course, important in order to have a stress-free visit.

Good explanation of the purpose of going to see the dentist should be part of that preparation, especially in young individuals. The significance of having healthy teeth and gums and the consequences of not attending to a dental problem promptly should be explained.

Social stories about what happens at the dental office are effective ways of providing information on what to expect at the dentist's and why it is necessary to go. We tend to be more comfortable with people we have already met and interacted with. If possible, it is helpful to arrange to meet the dentist and the other staff before scheduling an appointment, especially if it is the first visit to that dentist.

It is also helpful to give as much information as possible about the person's circumstance and needs to the dentist and their team so that they can make necessary arrangements and introduce appropriate adjustments to the procedure. For instance, the dentist may use visual or auditory timers during the procedure to enable the person to understand that there is a time limit to this experience.

Depending on the level of fear, it is now possible to alleviate some of the anxiety associated with dental treatment with the administration of medications. A mixture of gas and air administered through a nosepiece sufficiently calms the person while remaining fully conscious throughout the procedure. With extremely nervous persons, especially if they need to undergo dental procedures that may go on for some time, gas inhalation techniques may be inadequate, as their effects tend to wear off very quickly.

With such persons, adequate sedation can be attained by the use of intravenous injections administered through a needle inserted into a vein on the arm. The effects are felt very quickly and the dentist can adjust the dose of the medication according to the level of sedation required and the duration of the procedure.