Urban Smiles Victoria: Tools for Battling Dental Anxiety
Scared of the dentist? You’re not alone. According to The Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 11-22% of patients experience extreme dental anxiety. At our Urban Smiles Victoria dental clinic in Downtown Victoria, we have invested in making our office as spa-like as possible. Your dental health is important to us, and that means helping you feel comfortable to get the treatment you need.
For patients who feel uneasy about visiting the dentist, whether for a routine check-up or a more invasive dental procedure, we know the experience can be nerve-wracking. This is why preventative dentistry is so important and putting off a visit can lead to more serious dental issues down the road.
In this blog post, we are sharing the tools that our patients use every day at Urban Smiles Victoria to cope with their dental anxiety.
What is Dental Anxiety?
Dental Anxiety is a term used to describe fear, anxiety, and stress experienced when visiting a dental office. Dental anxiety often leads to delaying or avoiding needed dental treatment and can be associated with many factors varying from patient to patient, such as needles, drills, or being in a clinical setting. Dental anxiety can manifest in very real symptoms, and at Urban Smiles Victoria we take it very seriously.
How Can Urban Smiles help?
Sedation Dentistry
If you experience extreme dental anxiety, sedation dentistry might be for you to ensure that your emotional and physical comfort is taken care of while we take care of your teeth.
At Urban Smiles, we offer multiple levels of sedation dentistry:
Oral Sedation
The most common and inexpensive form of light sedation. This method puts the patient at ease and not entirely asleep. Depending on the dosage, patients may need to arrange for a safe ride home.
Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas)
One of the most preferred methods of sedation in dentistry, Nitrous Oxide is safe and easily administered through a nose mask throughout the procedure. The patient will still have the ability to interact with the dental team, but be less aware of their pain and anxiety.
Intravenous (IV) Sedation
IV sedation is moderate sedation that is perfect for patients with extreme anxiety or having an extensive treatment done during one visit. With this type of sedation, you will need a safe drive home.
We understand that anxiety manifests differently in patient to patient, and encourage you to feel comfortable sharing your anxieties with us. Urban Smiles Victoria offers our patients a variety of other tools besides sedation dentistry to help cope with dental anxiety during your visit. These include:
- TVs for distraction
- Paraffin wax hand treatments
- Full body massage chair to relax you prior to your treatment
- Weighted blanket during your treatment
- Our MVP & Anxiety Support Dog, Maddie.
If you are reading this and still have trouble overcoming your dental anxiety, we encourage you to book a consultation with us to meet the team face to face and visit our office. Dental Anxiety is not only normal but very common.
Don’t let Dental Anxiety lead you down a path of bad oral hygiene, we can help you find a treatment plan that works for you.