Dentist - Conquering Your Fears

Many people cringe at the mere mention of the word "dentist

," envisioning a visit to their office as an exercise in torture and pain. Perhaps the hardest part of these appointments is being able to sit still with your mouth wide open while listening to a buzzing drill, which can cause anxiety for some patients. It seems that much of the negative stigma surrounding these procedures is purely psychological. These fears can be alleviated if you simply educate yourself about why a visit to a dental practitioner is safe, beneficial to your health, and pain free if you are being treated by the right professional.

With medical advances making strides each year, dentistry has become an extremely safe practice. There are many ways to eliminate any pain during the procedures, such as topical anesthetics and injections of nerve blockers which basically turn off the pain receptors in whatever area the dentist needs to work on. Nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas," can be administered to relax the patient and reduce pain and anxiety. All of these options are risk-free and wear off soon after you leave the chair, with no unwanted side effects.

If you get regular cleanings and catch a cavity early, you can easily get it repaired with a simple procedure, rather than getting a costly and intensive root canal once the tooth has decayed badly enough. Cleanings also help to maintain whiter teeth, as the dental hygienist is able to scrape off plaque buildup that a toothbrush cannot get rid of. If the prospect of healthy teeth is not enough to get you into the dentist's chair, at least consider the boost of confidence you will have with a whiter smile.

More dental offices are now adding LCD televisions with headphones for patients to watch while getting their teeth worked on. The offices usually have a decent selection of DVD's or TV shows to keep your mind off the procedure or simply to entertain you if you get bored while in the chair. This can greatly reduce anxiety or fear, and the headphones block out the stressful noise of the drill which is one of the main things people dread about the dentist.

Although a visit to the dentist is not the most fun-filled activity, it is a necessary part of living a healthy life and will pay off in the long run. Dentistry is constantly improving, and its practitioners are always looking for ways to eliminate discomfort in their patients and make the experience as enjoyable as possible. If you can get over the fear of the visit, you have won most of the battle and will thank yourself later for maintaining a healthy set of teeth.

by: Abigail Aaronson

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