One of the big reasons many people don’t go to get their teeth checked out as often as they should is because they simply don’t like dentists. For some, this long standing anxiety may have come from a bad experience in the past, for others, it’s simply the fear of potential pain that stops them.
Most dental practices understand that patients are anxious, however much of a brave face they put on, and many now make every effort to put their clients at ease.
At the Black Swan Dental Spa, we’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that all our visitors get a warm welcome and a comfortable environment that hopefully makes them feel less like they are stepping into a medical facility. As soon as you enter our clinic, you’ll find there’s something different about it.
Things You Can Do
While for most people dental anxiety is something they can cope with, for others it can lead to debilitating fear that can’t be controlled. It’s much better to avoid the dentist and suffer a bad tooth than step through those clinic doors. If you find yourself overly anxious, however, there are a number of things you can do to change that bad feeling.
First of all, getting to know your dental practice better can help. It’s much worse going into a strange place where you don’t know anyone than one where you’re guaranteed of getting support.
You can discuss your fears with a dentist and explore a little more deeply why you are anxious. It might be that you had that bad experience, in which case your dentist can introduce you slowly to his or her practice without doing anything too invasive until your confidence improves. You might even find quickly that there’s nothing really to worry about.
There’s no shame in telling your dentist that you are afraid – in fact, around 75% of people report feeling some level of anxiety when they visit their dental practice.
Things Your Dental Practice Should Be Doing
At the Black Swan Dental Spa, we do our best to put our patients at ease. When it’s apparent that someone is overly anxious, it’s important to make sure that we treat them with respect. Part of the challenge is also ensuring that the individual knows they remain in control – if they want the treatment stopped it will be stopped.
When we discuss a person’s anxieties we listen closely to what they are saying and don’t judge them in anyway. Our aim is to find a solution that works for our client. That could mean giving them more time to prepare themselves, talking them through a particular procedure in detail or using specific techniques that are designed to make sure that anxiety levels don’t rise.
Our aim is always to offer a friendly atmosphere that is apparent as soon as someone walks through the door. That means you’ll always get a pleasant smile and conversation when you arrive for your appointment. Waiting to go into the dentist can be almost as bad as the actual treatment for someone who is anxious about what is going to happen. That’s why we’ve taken great care in producing a waiting area that feels comfortable and safe.
If anxiety is stopping you from visiting your dentist, then give us a call at the Black Swan Dental Spa and see how we can help you today. We appreciate everyone is different and we’ll take all the time you need to make sure that you have a pleasant and professional experience.
