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  • Home
  • Contact
  • Online Booking
  • Our services
    • Dental Braces
    • Dental Bridges
    • Dental Crowns
    • Dental Fillings
    • Dental Hygiene treatment
    • Dental Implants
    • Dental Night Guards
    • Dentures
    • Extraction
    • Invisalign
    • Professional Teeth Whitening in Wellington
    • Root Canal Treatment
    • Smile Makeover: Cosmetic Dentistry
    • Wisdom Teeth Removal
  • Our team
  • Technology
    • CADCAM Dentistry
    • Magnification
    • CBCT imaging
    • Cracks and Caries Detection
    • Digital X-rays
    • Intra-oral camera
    • Velscope
    • Soft Tissue Laser

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Recent Posts

  • How to Care for Your Oral Health During Pregnancy
  • Healthy Foods that are Bad for your Teeth
  • Dry Socket: What Is It, And How Can You Avoid It?
  • How Does Oral Health Impact Your Overall Health
  • How You Can Overcome Your Fear of the Dentist
  • What are the Most Common Dental Emergencies?
  • Are Dental Veneers Right for You
  • Consider These Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures
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  • Is Your Dental Health Responsible for Your Bad Breath
  • Reasons Why You Might Need Dental Night Guards
  • How to Reduce Tooth Sensitivity After Whitening
  • How Today's Dentists Detect Cracks and Caries
  • What Really Happens in a Root Canal
  • How DIAGNOdent Helps Dentists Detect and Diagnose Decay
  • What is Velscope? A Look at Diagnosing Oral Surgeries
  • Why Lasers are the Latest Space-Age Dentistry Breakthrough
  • What is CADCAM Dentistry?
  • How to Care For Your Teeth While You Sleep
  • The Five Biggest Benefits of Removing Your Wisdom Teeth
  • How CBCT Imaging has Transformed Modern Dentistry
  • Dental Crowns, Bridges, or Implants: Which is the Right Choice for Me?
  • Cosmetic Dentistry Basics: What is Digital Smile Design?
  • What Makes Invisalign Better than Normal Braces?
  • Oral Health Basics: How Do I Keep My Mouth Healthy?
  • Glass Ionomer vs Composite Fillings: Which One is Right for You?
  • Are All-On-4 Dental Implants Right for Me?
  • Root Canal Treatments 101: What You Need to Know
  • Wisdom Tooth Removal: Facts You Need To Know
  • I brush my teeth regularly, so why are they still yellow?
  • How to Fix a Chipped or Broken Tooth
  • What You Eat Can Affect Your Oral Health
  • What to do when you have a toothache
  • How preventive dentistry keeps your teeth clean
  • What causes sensitive teeth and how can I soothe the pain?
  • How a healthy mouth can affect your overall health
  • Everything You Need to Know about Teeth Whitening
  • What to Do When You Break a Tooth

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How You Can Overcome Your Fear of the Dentist

Woman sitting in dentist chair looking at blue gloved hands holding a dental model of teeth

Fear of going to the dentist does exist for some people. This fear stems from a multitude of reasons – it may be because one is anxious about the costs it could entail if anything needs to be fixed. Other times, fear comes from the anticipation of pain from drills and needles. Major dental procedures like wisdom teeth removal may invoke feelings of distress, but we find this is often due to misinformation.

 

But, how exactly do you overcome these fears? Read on, as we discuss ways of dealing with some different specific fears. 

 

1. The fear of pain

The most common fear of dental visits is the anticipation of pain. However, it’s important to note that multiple factors come into play with dental pain. When you’re more fearful, your body tends to tense up, and this could easily make you more sensitive to pain. Try to relax by practising deep breathing. Remember that anaesthetics are available for most treatments, and they work best when you’re relaxed. 

 

2. Trauma from bad experience

Sometimes your fear and anxiety may stem from a bad experience with your previous dentist, during a tooth extraction or some other routine procedure. Thankfully, not all dentists are the same.

 

We suggest that you ask for recommendations from close friends and family whom you can trust. When you find a new dentist to work with, make sure to express and communicate your concerns to them. This way, they can understand your situation better and adapt the treatment around your specific needs.

 

3. The fear of helplessness 

It’s understandable to have feelings of helplessness when sitting for hours on a dental chair. Being confined to a chair may trigger feelings of claustrophobia, anxiety, and elicit panic attacks.


Inform the dental staff at the beginning of the appointment on how you’re feeling. You can also use hand signals whenever you’re feeling uncomfortable. This will let them know right away when you want to take a break so you can stretch or take a breather from the procedure.

 

4. Embarrassment towards your oral health 

Even embarrassment can cause irrational fears towards going to the dentist. It may be because you admit that you havent’t had a check-up for several months, or you have gone years without a dental cleaning. This may cause you to become fearful of wha a dentist might say. Consider the fact that dental professionals have probably seen it all! It’s likely that you’re nowhere near the worst set of teeth they’ve ever seen. Plus, it’s their job to help you get your oral health back in shape, not to criticise you. 

 

5. Anxiety about cost

Dental procedures are more costly when your insurance doesn’t cover it, however, you save more along the way when you show up to your regular, scheduled appointments. Having regular check-ups significantly reduces the need for costly treatments later on. Furthermore, it’s always good to ask your dentist about payment options. Most dentists will work with you to create a comfortable financial arrangement. 

 

Work with a dentist you’re most comfortable with

You can overcome all feelings of fear, anxiety, and worry when you work with a trusted dentist with whom you can openly share your concerns. Naenae Dental Clinic employs a team of professional dentists in Wellington who are trained to keep you informed about the procedure, listen to your needs, and care for your oral health above all else. Book an appointment today!  

Posted 14 months ago by Naenae Dental Clinic

NDC

Contact Us

T : + 04 567 4752 F : + 04 567 3147 9 Hillary Court, Naenae Lower Hutt Wellington

Opening Hours

  • Monday 8:30AM - 8:00PM
  • Tuesday 8:30AM - 8:00PM
  • Wednesday 8:30AM - 5:30PM
  • Thursday 8:30AM - 8:00PM
  • Friday 8:30AM - 8:00PM
  • Saturday 9:00AM - 6:00PM
  • Sunday 9:00AM - 6:00PM