Dental Anxiety - How can we Help
Dental Anxiety (or fear of the dentist): It’s a concern we see almost every day at our office. Most people don’t “like “going to the dentist, but for some, it’s much more than that. Some have a physiological response to coming to the dentist that makes the process incredibly difficult and sometimes downright impossible.
We wanted to write this blog post to address Dental Anxiety and offer a possible solution if you are one of the countless people that suffer from it.
It’s difficult to say that we understand what someone is going through that suffers from Dental Anxiety. However, it is something that we see and treat almost every single day at our practice. It’s safe to say that 100’s of our patients listed that they have SEVERE dental anxiety on their new patient questionaire and all have reported that they felt safe and at home with us when under our care.
But, words are cheap. How can we actually make the process of coming to the dentist less anxiety ridden? Well, there’s several ways:
When we built out our new office in Sammamish, we took extra care in the design of our treatment rooms to help those suffering from Dental Anxiety. We built each treatment room as a stand alone, fully sealed unit. Each room has a door for total privacy, with shades and dimmable lights to allow for a darker, more soothing environment. Additionally, our doors offer sound proofing, so you can’t hear “work” on another patient that might trigger your anxiety.
We offer noise canceling headphones for all of our patients to eliminate any sounds or noises that might be distracting or unnerving. Additionally, each treatment room is equipped with ceiling mounted TV’s featuring Netflix, YouTube or our custom created scenic drone screensaver featuring calming views from around the Pacific Northwest.
We offer blankets, hot water bottles and warm towels to make the experience a little more comfortable and inviting.
Our office is a “Spa” to quote many of our patients. We wanted our office to feel warm and comfortable when we built it… not a cold/ clinical space. Our office always has candles and fresh plants and flowers to help make it feel natural and inviting from the moment you walk in the door. We also offer infused and sparkling water upon your arrival and a steamed towel to make you feel more at home.
But, what if that’s not enough? Well, we have other things that might be able to help:
Nitrous Oxide (or laughing gas). We have this available in all of our treatment rooms as a nice option to take the “edge” off .
If that’s not strong enough, we also offer IV Sedation for those whose fear is incredibly high. With IV Sedation, you are able to sleep through your entire appointment and are woken up when everything is done.
We know that this doesn’t solve everyone’s problems, but we’ve found that it’s a good starting point. We do encourage each of our patients (particularly those with dental anxiety) to talk to us about it. Tell us what we can do to help. Also, ask questions. Patients are usually much more at ease when they know what is going on and why we are doing something. The knowledge helps to alleviate the fear of the unknown.
If none of this sounds convincing, we’d invite you to come in to our office… just to meet us. Come in and meet our staff and take a tour of our office. Sit in the lobby and take a moment to adjust to the space and feel comfortable here. We’ve had a number of patients that have taken us up on this offer in the past. They’ve all reported that getting to know us and our space helped tremendously to build trust before coming in to have any work done.
If you have Dental Anxiety and are searching for a dentist that can take care of you, and make you feel safe and cared for, please consider giving us a call. We’d be happy to talk to you and see what we can do to help you.
