Sleep dentistry to assist dental anxiety and pain control

We offer sleep dentistry (sedation dentistry) at our Essendon dental clinic for patients who may have anxiety about dental procedures.

One of the major reasons for not going to the dentist is fear or anxiety. While dental anxiety is understandable, the longer you leave your dental problems, the worse they become. And the worse they become, the larger the fear grows.

For those of us who visit the dentist regularly, this may seem absurd. But dentistry fear is so real and prevalent that it has its own clinical term: ‘dentophobia’. For some, it’s a mild anxiety that can be tolerated in the dental chair. For others, just the thought of the dental chair can cause them to break out in a cold sweat.

The definition of being brave is doing something that scares you. So, your best course of action is to visit a dentist as soon as you can. Avoiding a visit will make dental health issues worse and may result in the kind of treatment that is causing the fear.

How can our dentists help you with your anxiety?

What is needed is a plan, which starts with a simple visit to your FirstBite dentist. This will involve an examination, and several x-rays of your teeth and jaw to help identify holes, decay under existing fillings, possible wisdom teeth issues and bone levels of the jaw. Your FirstBite dentist will discuss any concerns with you and your options for correcting what is wrong. It needs to be a plan that suits what you want to achieve and your budget.

You will then decide together the best way forward that will help you conquer your fear and restore your oral health. We will:

• Start with the simple things and gradually work towards the larger issues as we help you overcome your fear.
• Consider methods to alleviate anxiety and fear such as happy gas and sleep dentistry.
• Talk you through everything that is going to happen so that you understand the oral health benefit that will result from the treatment.
• Listen to you and your concerns.

We have helped hundreds of patients work through their fear. For most, the treatment required is not as bad as they initially thought, and by the end of it, they are happy to continue with regular examinations. At the end you will have a smile that you can be proud of and be confident that you won’t have to wait until it’s too late to visit the dentist again.

So, be brave. Call us on 9379 1893 to arrange your first examination.