What is the most effective technique to relax a nervous patient
article by Raha Sepehrara
A nervous patient is a patient that jeopardises his or her own treatment. It is not uncommon to have dental phobias. In fact, the Office for National Statistics and the NHS Information Centre have joint forces, in 2009, and conducted the biggest dental study for adults that included numbers from a full decade. Based on their findings, an article published on WebMD Health News concludes that one in ten men and one in five women suffer from extreme dental anxiety. The study has shown that 30% of all adults surveyed were feeling very stressed with the idea of having their teeth drilled, and about as many were extremely fearsome of needles and having an injection. Also, the elevated stress levels due to dental phobias were found to be greater among young adults (up to 24), compared to the older ages. So, you are not alone and you are definitely not the only one.
How do we Relax a Nervous Patient?
There are many ways to relax a nervous patient and a lot of it depends on the degree of anxiety they have about dental treatment. Some of our new patients, here at The Dental Suite, need time to build up their courage. We encourage them by saying they can start with a simple call to get to know us or pay a short visit until they feel comfortable enough to come for a consultation with our dentist. Many of our nervous patients initially book for a consultation with our phobia certified dentists. This is not the time to feel your heartbeat rising though as this first consultation is more like an informal chat, rather than involving an intervention of any sort. We just discuss your options for the particular case of yours, so nothing to worry about there!
Right after the consultation, you may opt for a treatment with or without sedation. Certain patients are only slightly nervous but find that they can cope through treatment thanks to our welcoming and friendly team and the lovely surroundings. They may want to bring headphones and listen to music during treatment, which can work really well. In other cases, we have had patients who wanted to hold a stress ball to concentrate on their hand movements as a distraction. Other patients prefer a simple tablet before treatment so that they can have their treatment done, while the most nervous of patients just prefer being fully sedated with IV sedation.
Set that aside, at The Dental Suite, we have made painful injection a thing of the past. We welcome you to the dentistry of the 21st century with THE WAND, which is a computerised injection delivery unit that makes things so much easier and nicer!
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