Dental Anxiety
Don’t let your anxiety stop you from feeling comfortable at the dentist.
If you have put off your dental visit for fear of the dental chair, then you may have dental anxiety. Unfortunately, many people associate dentistry with uncomfortable thoughts and memories. Whether it is due to poor experiences in childhood or very sensitive mouths or gag reflexes, we understand that it may not be your favourite place to be. You are not alone. Here is a brief list of common causes of anxiety that we can help with:
Past experiences – Rest assured that dentistry has changed in many ways and you may be pleasantly surprised by your new experiences
Claustrophobia – Our open rooms and calming atmosphere aim to help allow your room to breathe.
Gag reflex – We have many tips or tricks to help you through most procedures and have the additional facilities to help you through the rest.
Dental pain – Some people have a high tolerance to anaesthesia or metabolize it much quicker. If this sounds like you, let us know and we will take extra precautions to make you comfortable.
Fear of the unknown – We always believe it is better to know than not. Fear not any judgement as we try to be informative without trying to embarrass. The best thing to overcome this is to attend for a face to face consultation where our team can help you.
Rest assured that the team at Dental Care Group understand and are very well equipped to handle all your fears.
We offer many options to support your through your dental treatment including:
A Kind and Gentle Manner
We understand you
Quite a few of our patients will just feel more comfortable in the chair once they find the right dentist to treat them.
Our calm and gentle demeanour means that you should feel cared for and try to inform without overloading you with information.
We aim to have thorough and non-judgemental discussion to set realistic expectations. We also understand if you require a helping hand through more difficult procedures.
Light Sedation Options
Nitrous Oxide (Happy Gas)
Also known as relative analgesia
Nitrous oxide is delivered through a controlled and lightweight nasal canula system. It helps you feel more relaxed and can alter your perception of pain.
It is safe to use on children and adults.
Oral Anxiolytic Medication
Some patients will find appointments more relaxing with a prescription medication. This is usually taken about 1 hour prior to the appointment to make sure it is effective for your visit. It is best to attend with a friend who you trust and can take care of you as the effects can last a few hours.
Deep sedation and General Anaesthesia
Sleep Dentistry
If you don't want to remember
Our specialist anaesthetic team is the best at helping anxious patients have dental treatment.
We offer dental treatment under sedation at an offsite facility dedicated to Sleep Dentistry.
If you feel this is your option of choice, come in for a consultation and find out how we can help you.
Types of procedures
While deeper sedation options are typically used for more complex dental treatment, we allow you to determine the minimum level of sedation needed to make you comfortable.
We are non-judgemental and will discuss in depth your needs in the chair. Common procedures to require sedation include:
- Extractions
- Endodontics (Root Canal Treatments)
- Implant surgery
- Restorative dentistry (Fillings, Onlays, Crowns)
- Cleaning – Scaling or deep cleaning
- Gag reflexes
- Childhood anxiety
