Are you afraid of the dentist? You are not alone. Many patients fear the dentist in Harley Street because they anticipate a painful experience, or if it has been a while since their last check-up, they dread what could be wrong with their teeth. The majority feel some nerves when faced with the prospect of having to see the dentist, but these feelings only become problematic when they lead to behaviours of avoidance. There are several ways to minimise these negative emotions, which range from mild anxiety to outright terror, by developing copy strategies. Read below if your dental phobia is harming your oral health. 

Be honest with your dentist

Discuss your phobia with your dentist, so that he or she is cognisant of how you feel and consequently will know how to treat your ailment.If there are parts of your treatments that scare you, asking questions could help settle your anxieties. Some people’s concerns stem from a fear of the unknown, and knowing what is going to happen next could dispel your uneasiness about the situation. 

Establish non-verbal hand gestures

Panicking mid-way through a procedure can be terrifying. With your mouth wide open, you have no way to communicate your distress to a dentist in Harley Street. Before your check-up begins, establish signals with your dental practitioner so that they know when to stop for a break. Do not feel embarrassed about having a low pain threshold. If you experience extreme discomfort that you cannot tolerate, make this known. Suffering in silence only entrenches your negative feelings toward oral health providers. 

Find ways to distract yourself

A waiting room in a dental practice might be calm, warm and relaxing, but no matter what you do, the sound of a drill is annoying at best and can trigger a fear at worst. Bring your music with you to drown out these unpleasant sounds, and to help keep you calm and relaxed in a stress-inducing environment. Squeezing a stress ball helps to channel negative physical tensions. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed while seated in the dentist’s chair, press down onto a stress ball.

Breathe

Being told to breathe might seem like obvious advice, but when you start to panic, your breathing becomes quick and shallow. This change in breathing prevents oxygen from circulating your body. A lack of oxygen circulating the body only exacerbates these feelings of terror, making you feel like you cannot breathe properly. Try and take slow, even breaths in and out. Controlling your breathing will help to calm you down. 

Switch your dentist

Dentists are not the cold medical practitioners sometimes portrayed in the media, but you do need to develop a good relationship with yours. They are likely to perform invasive procedures, during which you have to feel comfortable. At the same time, a dentist who is non-sympathetic to your plight might exacerbate your fear. If your dentist is devoid of empathy, find a replacement immediately who understands your anxieties, however irrational they might seem. 

Dentophobia can have seriously harmful effects on your oral health. Learn how to cope with your dental anxieties with various tricks and techniques.