Dental anxiety affects a wide range of people, and can keep them from receiving vital dental care. Often, this anxiety stems from unpleasant experiences in the past, usually during childhood. Using sedation dentistry can help overcome this issue and allow you to have your teeth properly cared for.
What Causes
Dental Anxiety?
Dental anxiety can occur for various reasons. If you already have an anxiety or panic disorder, it can easily affect your reactions to visiting the dentist. Most commonly, people with dental anxiety have had unpleasant experiences as children, leading them to associate the dentist with discomfort, claustrophobia, and feelings of helplessness. These associations can trigger anxiety or even panic attacks. It’s no wonder people with severe dental anxiety avoid the dentist.
Avoiding the dentist, though, simply compounds the problem. Years of insufficient dental care leads to more problems such as wear and tear, staining, decay, and gum disease. By the time you finally do muster up the courage to see the dentist, your problems could be difficult and uncomfortable to treat, leading to an unpleasant appointment that does nothing to stem your overall dislike of the dentist.
Dealing with
Dental Anxiety
For those who suffer from dental anxiety, sedation dentistry is a possible solution. The dentist can prescribe a sedative delivered in a pill form or use nitrous oxide during your treatment. These sedatives help you completely relax, lose your sense of anxiety, and float through your appointment in a near dream-like state. Your dentist will also be able to do more work in a single appointment, helping you catch up with any work you’ve been avoiding.
Fortunately, pediatric dentistry has advanced over the last few decades, making unpleasant childhood experiences less common. To help prevent your child from developing anxiety, look for a dentist who has extensive experience with children, a welcoming waiting room, and who is recommended by other parents. This way, in the future, your child will be able to take excellent care of his teeth and avoid long-term problems.
Contact our office at Boerne Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry today!