If you get anxiety thinking about dental visits, you’re in good company. Many people have some form of dental anxiety. Don’t let this prevent you from getting the dental treatments you need. Call us today at 603-546-7460 and schedule your next appointment to include dental sedation. With Dr. Kiehl’s help, you can feel comfortable and relaxed at our Nashua, NH dental office.
Reasons Why You Might Have Dental Anxiety
Having so much concern over dentistry that you skip appointments and forgo treatment is not something that just happens. Here are some of the most common causes of dental anxiety.
You don’t know how many problems there are with your teeth.
Sometimes, it’s what you don’t know that gets you worried and anxious. When it comes to your smile, there can be many problems you cannot see. Cavities can be too small, and the bacteria behind them and gum disease is microscopic. Some people have dental anxiety because there’s so much they can’t see or do not know.
One of the best ways to fight this is to get regular dental exams and dental cleanings. Keeping your teeth clean will help you keep problems in check. Regular dental exams can dampen anxiety over not knowing by giving you proof that your teeth are fine.
Your job requires you to be in charge, so it’s hard to let others do that.
If you are a manager, supervisor, or leader of a team (including being a parent), then you are often forced to be in charge. Like it or not, the buck stops with you. That means you have to work hard and make plenty of decisions. In other words, you’re in charge. But things are reversed when you go to a dentist’s office. You have to sit back and let someone else be in charge for the whole visit.
For this, you probably want to go with oral sedation. This is a small pill you take prior to your visit. It induces a deep, relaxed feeling. Any concern you have from not being in charge should disappear.
You’re expecting a lecture because it’s been years since your last dental visit.
It usually starts with a single missed appointment. That happens. With everything going on in your busy life — take the kids to school, buy groceries, pay bills, get the kids to soccer, meet with a planning committee — it’s understandable that you miss a visit. But these things tend to get momentum. Miss one, and you can more easily miss two, and so on.
If it’s been a while, you might be expecting a lecture from Dr. Kiehl or our dental hygienist. Rest assured that this will not happen. Our whole team just wants to help.
You had a negative experience with another dental office.
This is especially powerful when you were a child. It’s not hard to find dental offices intimidating. Dentists are people too, so they can make mistakes. It’s rare, but if it happens, you can remember that experience for a long time. If you’ve had a bad experience at another dentist’s office, it’s easy to have some anxiety about seeing any dentist.
This is another case where oral sedation can work wonders. By taking advantage of Dr. Kiehl’s training in sedation dentistry, you can replace anxiety with peace. Also, this starts building up positive experiences at a dentist’s office. With enough of these, your dental anxiety can go away even without dental sedation.
You’ve heard tales and stories about bad dental experiences.
Sometimes, the negative experience causing some dental anxiety is not yours. It might not even be real. You know how stories and fake news reports spread like wildfire these days. Maybe you just watched a movie or read a book with a bad dental experience in it. Regardless of where you got it from, that story can build up your dental anxiety.
Once again, this is where sedation dentistry can help. That’s why Dr. Kiehl is well-trained in using dental sedation. He knows how powerful this can be in fighting dental anxiety.
Sedation Dentistry Can Help
Oral sedation is powerful stuff. You will need someone to drive you to our Nashua, NH dental office and take you back home again. However, that’s a small price to pay to get rid of dental anxiety and finally get the dental treatments you need for a healthy smile.
Call Nashua Family Dentistry today at 603-546-7460 or use our convenient online form to schedule your next appointment. Even if you have dental anxiety, Dr. Kiehl has the demeanor and training in sedation dentistry to help you get past it.