NERVOUS PATIENTS

How we can help

We try very hard to make sure that you are comfortable and relaxed and we really do sympathise. If you are nervous we will…

• …meet you just for a chat. You don’t even have to sit in the dental chair!
• …learn exactly what your worries are.
• …put ourselves in your hands. You are in control at all times. If at any point in the conversation you just want to get up and leave – you can and we won’t be offended.

Even when treatment starts we put you in control at all times. If at any point you want us to stop – just let us know. If we are in the middle of doing something and you put up your hand we will stop IMMEDIATELY.

Embarrassment

If you have not been to the dentist for a long time – don’t feel embarrassed – it is quite usual in nervous patients. We will not be shocked and have helped many people who have not seen a dentist for years. We never want you to feel guilty or bad that you haven’t been and we certainly will not be disapproving or cross!

If you have had a bad experience and have been afraid for some time, it stands to reason that you may not have visited a dentist for some time. We understand this and will not judge you. We will endeavour to provide stress free treatment tailored to your needs.

Needles

We understand that most fears are the result of a bad experience – often something that happened when visiting the dentist in childhood.

We use techniques when giving injections to make them as gentle as possible. In fact, most patients do not feel anything at all.

Before an injection we use a surface anaesthetic gel. This numbs the area first. We do not use traditional needles but instead a machine called the Wand, a revolutionary system that enables pain free injections, and are one of a few practices in the UK trained to use it.

It’s not magic but you won’t believe how effective and painless it is.

Not being in control

We understand that most fears are the result of a bad experience – often something that happened when visiting the dentist as a child.

You are in control at all times. You don’t even have to sit in the chair on the first visit. We will explain all treatment to you stage by stage and ensure that you understand. If at any time during treatment you want a break, just raise your hand and we will stop immediately. If you feel claustrophobic we will stop and you can sit or stand up. If at any point you just want us to stop for no particular reason – that is OK as well!

Drilling

This is a very common fear and we find that the following can really help: We try to make sure that there is never any pain whatsoever when we drill by numbing the tooth first.

However if you feel anything do not put up with it as we want to know. In other words we want you to let us know as soon as possible if you feel the slightest twinge – often we need to give you a bit more anaesthetic before doing any more.

If you wonder how you will be able to tell us to stop if we have already started treatment – the answer is that you just put your hand up. If you do this we will stop straight away!