Does the thought of visiting the dentist make you feel fearful or anxious? It’s far more common than you might think, and a 2005 study carried out by the University of Toronto showed 16% of Canadians have some dental anxiety while 8% are so fearful they are unable to seek treatment.
If this sounds familiar then Tsawwassen Place Dental Clinic can do a lot to help you. Modern dentistry shouldn’t be painful or uncomfortable, and you’ll find our dentist does everything possible to put you at your ease. We have a number of techniques and tools at our disposal to help make you feel more relaxed during treatment and we are very experienced at helping nervous patients receive essential dental care.
Dental fears and anxieties can be due to a number of different things. Some people will have had a bad experience with another dentist, or it could even be due to parents inadvertently transmitting their fears to their children.
Dr. Larry Leslie approaches treatment with great sensitivity to these concerns, as he and the staff here take the time to make sure you understand any dental procedures that are required using easy-to-understand language instead of lots of baffling dental jargon. If you’re ever unsure of what’s going on then simply ask someone to explain it to you again, as it can sometimes be quite difficult to take in new information when you’re stressed or anxious.
Sedation options
When it comes to the actual treatment we can offer additional sedation. Sedation dentistry is a way of keeping you comfortable and relaxed during treatment. You will still be awake during the whole procedure but you won’t really be aware of what’s going on. This type of conscious sedation can be given orally or intravenously and is ideal if you require quite a lot of dental work to restore your oral health. Once treatment is over you’ll remember very little of what happened. This type of procedure is very safe, although you need to bring someone with you to your appointment as they’ll have to take you home afterwards as you won’t be able to drive for 24 hours.
Over time we hope you’ll feel more comfortable about visiting our dental office as bad memories are gradually replaced with new and positive experiences. Once you have regained your oral health then it’s often quite straightforward to retain it through regular preventative dental checkups and professional cleanings.
Dental cleanings made easy
Some people find professional cleanings hard to deal with, and this is something that we can help with. If you find your gums are particularly sensitive, or perhaps they require deep cleaning as part of a periodontal therapy treatment plan, then we can provide you with something called Oraquix®. This is a needle-free way of administering local anesthetic to areas where it’s required, and it’s perfect if you are anxious about having injections. Instead the anesthetic is applied with a blunt tipped applicator and dispenser, and this helps to ensure your routine dental cleanings are comfortable and pain-free.
The main thing to do if you do feel a little anxious about visiting the dentist is to talk to our dental staff about your concerns. Once we know you feel anxious over dental visits then we can start trying to help you overcome these fears.
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* Source: University of Toronto
