What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “no respect for age or social standing”? Well, in the world of dentistry, it’s dental anxiety. Dental professionals say dental anxiety can be experienced by anyone. But don’t you worry. IV sedation dentistry is now available to help you when dental anxiety strikes.
How to Know If You Have Dental Anxiety
Vulnerability
You’ll know you have dental anxiety when you sit in the chair and you feel vulnerable. When the dentist’s chair starts to recline, you will think you’re out of control, uncertain of what might happen, or more sensitive to pain if you have a sudden sense of panic.
You may experience gag reflexes when a dental tool is placed in your mouth, fear of needles, drilling, or other uncomfortable procedures. To make you feel at ease and in control of the situation, an accommodating dentist provides you with diversions like televisions, magazines, and music in addition to painless injections and mild sedative choices.
Feeling Tense
Feeling uneasy as soon as you enter the dental clinic may be a sign that you have dental anxiety. If entering the waiting area is enough to set off your anxiety, you probably relate the sounds, smells, and images of the office with a previous traumatic experience.
You’ll know you have dental anxiety if the sound of the drill, the clinic’s odor, and the fluorescent lighting all make you nervous. You may feel pleasantly welcomed and at ease the instant you enter a dentist’s office that offers patients a calmly lighted waiting area with refreshments, periodicals, and calming music.
Constant Recall of Unpleasant Experiences
Experiencing unpleasant past events may develop into dental anxiety. Perhaps the dental hygienist or dentist didn’t care about your comfort, or the operation you underwent was surprisingly uncomfortable. If you’ve had a bad experience at the dentist in the past, you likely won’t want to go back.
Whatever the cause, it’s essential to keep in mind that you can always swap those negative experiences for positive ones. Find a dentist who takes pride in being kind and sympathetic, who will listen to your worries and take all reasonable steps to ensure your comfort.
Constant Neglect of Dental Appointments
You may think of justifications, such as a hectic schedule or forgetting to schedule the exam, but it’s all too simple to allow time to pass. Before you realize it, it has been a year or maybe more since your last visit to the dentist.
People who are highly anxious about visiting the dentist never make a special effort to push through with dental appointments. The bad news is that you risk developing more serious dental issues the longer you skip routine exams and cleaning. Visit the dentist twice a year to maintain good dental health and make your life easier.
Learn How IV Sedation Dentistry Helps With Dental Anxiety
Anxious patients with dental fear may experience physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. If this is left unattended, the patient could find any justification to skip a dental appointment while vowing to reschedule.
The more time you can avoid going to the dentist, the better (at least in your own mind). No matter how simple or challenging the dental procedure is, you’ll probably find it challenging. At PGA Dentistry, you will learn how to defeat your dental anxiety with the help of sedation dentistry.