30 Aug Common myths about nervous dental patients busted

Nervous dental patients need special care to help them back to oral health. At Dental Beauty Islington in North London, our principal dentist, Dr Ricky Adams, is Dental Phobia certified, which means that he is recognised and accredited for his work with nervous patients.

At our North London clinic we will work closely with our nervous dental patients, to find their own personal pathway back to a healthy and happy smile.

There are a lot of myths about nervous dental patients, so here we attempt to bust some of them:

Myth: Dental phobia isn’t a real thing. It’s just getting worked up over nothing.

Reality: This is absolutely not true. Nervous dental patients can suffer severe anxiety, panic attacks, and a range of other unpleasant symptoms at the mere thought of visiting a practice. It may be difficult to understand if you don’t suffer from the condition, but just like any other kind of phobia – spiders, heights, confined or open spaces – fear of dentists is real and anyone who suffers from it deserves to be treated with compassion and respect.

Myth: Nervous dental patients just need to be knocked out with general anaesthetic.

Reality: Whilst general anaesthetic is sometimes used for complex procedures or extremely phobic patients, it doesn’t really to anything to address the cause of the nervous dental patient’s fear. General anaesthetic also makes you feel pretty rough for a few days, which could make your fear worse. Conscious sedation is a better option because it means you will be relaxed and pain-free but largely unaware of treatment. It’s a popular option at our North London clinic. We also offer treatments such as hypnotherapy, which can furnish you with long-term coping techniques.

Myth: Nervous dental patients always have terrible teeth

Reality: Again, not necessarily true. Not visiting a dental practice for many years will take its toll on your teeth, but some people still practice scrupulous oral hygiene at home – in an attempt to avoid the need for visiting dentists.

Myth: Your dentist is judging your bad teeth

Reality: We will never do this at our North London clinic. It would only be counter-productive.