Tips To Help Dental Anxiety
Posted on 3/25/2019 by East Village Dental Centre |
Whether you’re uncomfortable going to any doctor or just have issues with dentist visits, the feeling of anxiety can be paralyzing. In some cases, it may prevent you from visiting the dentist as often as you should, which we know is not a good idea. But having anxiety when you’re going to see a wisdom teeth dentist in Chicago or any other kind of dentist is not at all uncommon.
And fortunately for you and your teeth, there are ways to alleviate dental anxiety. We’ll outline a few of our top tips for helping dental anxiety.
Carefully Select a Dentist that Fits Your Needs
Whether it’s a wisdom teeth dentist in Chicago or a general dentist, you’ll want to pick a dentist that understands and can cater to your needs. For example, if you have a child who is afraid of the dentist, visiting a pediatric dentist may be your best bet. These dentists specialize in treating children, so they’re trained and experienced with handling kids.
If you’re an adult who’s anxious about seeing the dentist, seek recommendations from others for a dentist that’s experienced dealing with anxious patients.
Find Out What’s Making You Anxious
There’s a variety of things, the use of anesthesia, drills, loud equipment, and needles, that may make you anxious in the dentist’s office. However, usually it’s not everything in the office that’s making you anxious. It may be the sound of the drill, or the needles. Try to narrow down what specific thing is making you feel anxious. Doing so can help you figure out a strategy for dealing with the anxiety.
Try Mindfulness and Meditation
More often than not, our initial fear of something is magnified by our emotions. In other words, it’s not necessarily the initial feeling of fear you get when you hear a drill, it’s all the thoughts and emotions that stoke the fire of that fear. Learning to meditate and being mindful during everyday activities can help you understand how to disassociate yourself from thoughts and emotions that would usually send you down a spiral of fear and anxiety.
Seek Professional Help
Unfortunately, until more recently, many people viewed mental health issues as less important than physical health issues. However, that perception is increasingly changing, and you should absolutely seek professional help if you don’t think you can handle your anxiety yourself.
That way, next time you come to see your wisdom teeth dentist in Chicago, you can relax and focus on having a clean, healthy mouth. |
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