UNDERSTANDING YOUR FEAR OF GOING TO THE DENTIST Anxiety, the Dentist, and You
Do you or someone you know fear visiting the dentist? If you do, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s one of the most common fears people experience. When we set out to create a dental practice that met the needs of patients who were afraid of going to the dentist, we had to understand the “why” behind the fear. What causes this type of anxiety? Fear of going to the dentist is an acquired fear. It comes from the emotional response people have to past experiences at the dentist. Every person has different past experiences, which lead to different kinds and levels of fear. While some people have a little apprehension about going to the dentist and may skip an appointment here or there, others have a phobia. They will do everything in their power to avoid going to the dentist and are scared to the extreme.
or maybe they received too little Novocain during a procedure, which resulted in an uncomfortable and painful experience.
There’s also a social aspect. Many people fear going to the dentist because they were judged by a past dentist or their team. They may have been lectured about their brushing habits or told they were doing something wrong. They were made to feel like the “bad guy.” It’s also possible a past dentist or hygienist failed to listen to the concerns of their patient or even continued working after the patient indicated they were in pain. There are a lot of people who are really scared of the dentist but really great at masking it so they will not be judged. Special psychological and clinical training is a must for dentists and their teams to be able to uncover these hidden fears and help patients overcome this major obstacle. For more information, please call our free, 24-hour Signature Smiles education center at 833-332-7373 to listen to recorded messages and to request more information such as “ The Smart Consumer’s Guide to Sedation Dentistry” for free.
The fear can start with many different things. It may have been a painful needle injection in childhood,
Happy 5-Year Anniversary
Streetsboro!
We are celebrating our five-year anniversary on Aug. 3, so we want to thank to our wonderful patients!
To show our appreciation throughout the month of August we will be having drawings for great baskets! At the end of the month, we will have a grand prize drawing for a 55-inch flat-screen TV! There are many ways to get entered! Any time you visit our office for an appointment, you will get one entry. If you check in on Facebook, you will get two entries. Post a selfie with one of us and get three entries. Share your feedback with us through Google or Facebook and get five entries. If you refer a friend or family member, you will get 10 entries.
Thank you for an amazing five years!
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