Worried About Your Dental Visit?

How we help anxious Epsom patients manage dental anxiety.

If you feel anxious when your dental appointment is approaching, don’t worry, you are far from alone. Whilst some people may exhibit little anxiety, the fact is that relatively few people look forward to their dental visits, with some becoming extremely anxious indeed.

Whilst this in itself, is a deeply unpleasant feeling, taking the easy way out and cancelling your appointment is to simply store up problems for the future.

Regular dental care is necessary for a healthy mouth, and any minor procedure that you might need now can help to preserve the tooth, whilst also potentially avoiding the need for more extensive dental surgery later on.

Managing anxiety

Different people find different ways of managing their dental anxiety. This can be a process of trial and error but some suggestions include relaxation exercises, meditation, hypnosis and aromatherapy – these techniques can also be useful for other anxieties such as a fear of flying. Whilst such “therapies” can help to reduce anxiety to a level where most are able to keep their appointments at their local dentist, this unfortunately may not be the case for very anxious patients. In this circumstance, we offer additional aid here at our Epsom dental practice, to help them through their appointments and procedures.

The Wand

A common dental phobia is a fear of the needle that is used to administer the local anaesthetic. Of course, without this, any procedure is likely to be extremely painful indeed, and a local anaesthetic is necessary for a number of treatments. At the Clock Tower Dental Clinic, we offer an alternative to the needle in the form of ‘The Wand’. This device allows a local anaesthetic to be administered with a minimum of discomfort, very accurately and faster-acting than a traditional needle.

Sedation

For those with severe dental anxiety, we offer IV sedation at our Epsom practice. Dr Joe Omar, our anaesthetist, is a medical doctor and lecturer in Harley Street and will ensure that you are in a relaxed state in readiness for your procedure. This type of sedation will not put you to sleep (despite sometimes being referred to as ‘sleep dentistry’) and you will remain conscious but deeply relaxed. Even mildly anxious patients may wish to consider this option when having longer procedures such as a dental implant placement.

If you are receiving sedation, please bring someone with you to take you home afterwards as you will not be able to drive or operate machinery for safety reasons.

If you are an anxious patient, living in the Epsom area of Surrey, and would like to discuss these options with us, please call the Clock Tower Dental Clinic on 01372 720136.