There are many adults who avoid the dentist. Prioritizing dental care ensures that you avoid pain and discomfort and keep your teeth and gums healthy while also contributing to overall good health. Any dental fear you have can be conquered with help from your Arlington dentist. The most important thing is to not allow fear to keep you from the care you need.
Possible Causes of Dental Fear
There doesn’t have to be a specific reason for dental fear, but many people pinpoint their reluctance to see a dentist to one event or thing:
- Bad experience as a child: Dental fears often stem from childhood, whether you went to a dentist who didn’t properly comfort children or had a negative experience during a procedure. These core memories can set the stage for a person’s dental health for the rest of their life.
- Embarrassed about the condition of your teeth: Maybe you don’t have great concerns about going to the dentist, but you’d rather stay home given the way your teeth look right now than be embarrassed by their condition. Rest assured, your dentist has seen everything, and her only goal is to help you get a healthy smile.
- Worried about your diagnosis: If you have tooth pain, jaw pain, or any discomfort in your teeth and gums, you know you’ll need dental restorations to repair them. This knowledge can make some people try to stick it out – except dental problems never go away on their own. They always require intervention from an expert.
Stressful Dental Care Procedures for Many Patients
Dental treatments tend to gain a reputation based on what people think they know about the procedure or have been told by others. But you don’t know how you’ll react to a restoration, or how well your dentist will perform the treatment. It’s understandable to be nervous about getting your teeth worked on, but some people have more fear than others and can’t force themselves to take that important step of going to the dentist. Procedures that cause the most distress include:
- Dental implants: Getting dental implants is oral surgery. This term can be daunting, but the treatment restores missing teeth permanently for a strong, healthy smile.
- Root canal: This procedure is incredibly important to eliminate damaged pulp inside an infected tooth and save it.
- Gum disease treatment: Tending to infected gums is no fun but getting this problem tended to right away prevents loose and lost teeth.
- Tooth extraction: Your dentist does everything possible to avoid extraction but should this move be necessary, it will be done meticulously in steps for a thorough removal.
Sedation Dentistry for Dental Care
Patients want to be pain-free and relaxed during dental procedures. Through sedation dentistry, the procedures feel less-invasive and you feel far more chilled out. You’ll still be conscious and responsive enough, but you can also lie back and enjoy the sedative effect for the duration of your appointment.
Find an excellent dentist you trust at Dr. Alana Macalik’s cosmetic and family dentistry practice in Arlington, TX. Expect consistency, kindness, and excellent care at every visit. Contact us for gentle dental care and good oral health for life.