Dental phobia is among the most common phobias in the UK. If you’re a nervous patient or experience dental phobia, we are here to help. Our dental team is highly trained, we offer the latest painless treatments and techniques and we also provide sedation dentistry. Our aim is to help you to overcome your fears and be sure that you feel comfortable when you have treatment.
In addition to modern dental techniques, we also provide a spa experience to make our patients feel more relaxed. We provide aromatherapy services, hot towels, relaxing music and head massages, and we also invite you to relax with some soothing music or pop a film on and make yourself at home.
Sedation dentistry
Dr Neil Gerrard is qualified in sedation dentistry and provides sedation for a number of dental procedures. Sedation is different to general anaesthetic because it doesn’t make you lose consciousness. However, it does make you feel extremely relaxed and you won’t endure any pain while you have treatment.
When you have sedation treatment, your dentist will administer sedative medication, which will gradually make you feel tired, calm and relaxed. You will be conscious, so you can talk to your dentist if required. After your dentist has finished, they will give you more medication to wake you up and the effects of the sedative will start to wear off.
It usually takes a few hours for the sedative effects to completely wear off, so we recommend having somebody to take you home and stay with you for about 24 hours. During this time, you should avoid driving, exercising, drinking alcohol and operating any machinery.
If you need dental treatment but you’ve been dreading getting into the dental chair, or you struggle with dental phobia and you haven’t been to a dentist for a long time, we can help. Our team is experienced, caring and compassionate and we will go the extra mile to help you feel calm and alleviate anxiety.
Clifton Dental Studio is a Dental Phobia Certified practice and this means we have expertise in caring for nervous patients. We understand that many patients experience extreme anxiety when faced with even the prospect of having dental treatment and we always try to do everything we can to prevent patients from feeling stressed, scared and worried.
Our team is very friendly and our dentists always make time to talk through procedures with patients, explain how treatment works and what it involves and reassure patients who suffer from anxiety or dental phobia.
Helping you to overcome your fears
One of the main worries about dental phobia is that it often prevents patients from attending regular appointments and this means that there is a high risk of dental health problems developing. We aim to help nervous patients overcome their fears, so that they feel able to come for regular check-ups without experiencing fear and trepidation.
As well as providing a relaxing and calming atmosphere for patients, we also provide spa packages to help you relax, as well as treatments such as sedation, which is designed to prevent you from feeling pain.
Sedation
Sedation is a technique used widely in medicine and dentistry to help patients to feel relaxed before and during treatment; it can be used to prevent physical pain, as well as to reduce anxiety and fear and it is very effective in helping nervous patients to feel more calm. Unlike general anaesthetic, sedation does not make you lose consciousness, but it does bring your body and mind into a deep state of relaxation.
If you are anxious about having dental treatment or you suffer from dental phobia, contact us today; don’t suffer in silence, as we can help!
Phobias can be a very real problem for some people and the causes can be deep rooted in your psyche; most people will shut them away and avoid anything that brings them to the surface. However, this can lead to a real problem if you suffer from dental phobia- you are caught in a catch 22 situation here; you need the treatment for your oral health, yet the fear can prevent you from getting it. Now, you need to be strong and confront this darkness that scares you, and it won’t be easy in the beginning, but you have to crack this and the only way is to seek out professional counselling. There is a big irony here because it should be your dentists that you talk to. These people understand your fears and the problems that phobias can bring to the chair. Go slow at first, open up and get things off your chest and when you are ready your dentist can then walk you through the range of modern treatments, sedation techniques and other methods to relax you during procedures. Don’t let this phobia get in the way of your needs and fight it. If you want further help on this condition then get in touch with Clifton Dental of Bristol, for they will advise you about your phobia and ways of getting around it.
Your oral health is a very important aspect of your life: keeping your teeth and gums clean and free of disease and decay is something you should be aware of each day and try to get right. Your dentist is also there to back you up if you need repairs when things go wrong. However, if you suffer from some level of dental phobia, this can prevent you getting the treatment you need to maintain your oral health, and if the teeth and gums fall into disrepair and situations become complex, it will make it doubly difficult to go for treatment. Phobias need to be flushed out and overcome and the only way to do this is to seek professional counselling to get to the root of what it is that scares you about going to the dentist, and strange as it seems, your dentist should be one of the people to talk to about this; they understand the nature of dental phobia and how it affects patients. The more you learn about modern dentistry, what is being offered and the more you chip away at your phobia- at your own pace, the more you can get involved with your treatments and make choices about what you would like to be done. This is a serious condition, but if you beat it, you can beat anything and remain healthy. For more advice on fighting your phobias, call Clifton Dental of Bristol; this team of experts can help you make the right choices in Swindon and help you to get over your fears.
If you are having problems with getting along to see your dentist because you fear what is going to happen to you when you get there, then it could mean that you are suffering from some level of dental phobia and it isn’t a pretty place to find yourself in. Fear can be suffocating, but unless you front up to it, it will escalate and stop you from doing anything at all and in the case of having a phobia of anything dental, it can lead to a breakdown in your oral health. In Swindon, the Clifton dental studio of Bristol can help guide you through the problem and tell you how to overcome your phobia of dental treatments. You will first need to talk your problems through with someone to get to the bottom of what is behind your phobia, and there is know better to start with than the person who is going to work on you- your dentist. Modern-day dentists are trained in understanding the problems their patients go through and can help to ease your worries by telling you about all the wonderful modern treatments that you can have done. You should learn about everything, specifically, what you can do to make your treatments as comfortable as possible, from relaxation techniques, hypnotherapy to anaesthetics. Then, your dentist can put the ball in your court so that you can start to make decisions, and this is the perfect way to overcome your phobia because now, you are in charge and not at the mercy of the dentist.
In Bristol, Clifton Dental can help you in your fight to battle dental phobia and it is a fight you must win. People who go through this suffer terribly and it doesn’t help that they are constantly reminded of it whenever they turn on the TV or go shopping. For some, just the thought of anything dental, can cause nausea, make you to shake with terror and more worryingly, prevent you from going anywhere near the dentists, even if you do need treatment. Irrational thoughts a generally caused by real events and in this case, the phobia could have been sparked off by bad experience in the past during a treatment. Dentists are often seen as bullies by people with phobias and so, why should someone let a stranger of an unknown quantity roam around their mouths? The point of all this though, is as a phobic, you are denying yourself the treatments to keep yourself healthy and if conditions get worse, it will only heap more misery upon you. There has been a lot of work done from dentists to help people overcome this problem and so maybe, a dentist should be the first person you talk to about the issues you have- and tell them everything: this in itself will act as an exorcism. It’s time for you to take control of the way you are treated and a dentist will willingly bow to you desires. Learn all you can about every treatment that is on offer; learn about sedation and then you choose the way you want things to go. This will give you the upper hand and by calling the shots, it will make you feel stronger and more comfortable when you finally settle back in the dentist’s chair. Nail this and you can nail anything that comes at you in the future.
If you have a problem of any nature crop up or have something breakdown on you, your first instinct is to get it fixed and this is the same sort of principle that should be applied to anyone who has a dental phobia- for only by overcoming the problem can you keep your mouth healthy and get the dental treatments you require. Looks simple on paper However, it could not be harder when it comes to real life, just ask Clifton Dental in Bristol who know all about dental phobia. A phobia by definition is a fear of a situation, that stops you from having any contact with it and in the case of dental phobia, it can prevent you from getting anywhere near the dental surgery and it’s exactly this that needs to be brought out into the open, explored and discussed with someone professional- the causes behind your phobia of dentistry. Taken at your pace, you can slowly come to terms with your problem. The real test is if you can just make it to the dentists, not for any sort of treatment, but for a chat. Once there, you could have a look around and discuss what is involved with all treatments and how they can be made easier for you. The more informed you become, the more confident you will become, and then you will be able to take on the greatest gift that could ever be bestowed on a person with a dental phobia, choice- choice to choose the treatments you want, when you want, and how you want. This now puts you in total control of the thing you were most scared of in the beginning!
Most people in Swindon have a phobia about something or other, but normally, they are things which you would only have to face once in a blue moon. However, if you have a phobia about something you have to face twice a year, the problem may well become a lot more intense- especially if your fears are dental related for this could be putting your mouth and your health in danger. Having a dental phobia is not good so you have to find a way around it in order to get the dental care you need. The first thing you need to do is identify where your phobias stem from; this may take some form of counselling at first. Then you need to brave it up and visit your dentist for a chat as well; you may see this as going into the lion’s den but remember, this is just for a chat, during which, you should confide in the dentist and spill the beans about everything that makes even a check-up a nightmare for you. Now you are talking and you may be slightly enlightened by the fact that the person you are talking to is actually human and understands exactly what you are going through, for dentists, you may be surprised to know, are trained to understand and deal with patients who have dental phobias. They will be able to tell you about all of the great new breakthroughs in modern dental technology, such as laser treatments that make procedures virtually pain-free. They will tell you how they can sedate you during complex treatments and then do something that may come as a big shock to you- give you a chance to get involved in your treatments by giving you the choice of what you want done and how you want it done. Clifton dental can point you in all they directions you need to go in order to confront your phobias.
Fear of the dentist is one of the most common phobias around – up there with fear of spiders. Perhaps this is unsurprising. We know how important our teeth and gums are to us, so the thought of someone poking around in there with sharp tools or electric drills quite naturally scares us a bit. It is ironic though, because staying away from your dentist is a sure fire way to end up with lasting damage to your teeth. Whether you stay in Swindon or the Outer Hebrides, everyone needs to make a regular visit to the dentist for a check up if they want to ensure they keep their teeth and gums healthy.
There are different ways of coping with dental phobia. First of all, make sure your dentist is aware and supportive of your fear. At Clifton Dental Studio in Bristol, we think that establishing a connection with your dentist is a good way to calm your nerves as trust is usually a major factor in dental phobia. You can also get therapy or counselling to help with the problem. Often talking your way through your fears will help to alleviate some of the symptoms. Another method which some people use is hypnotherapy. This works better for some people than it does for others but is a proven form of therapy for many which does not involve taking medication.
One of the most common and effective ways to solve anxiety issues for patients from Swindon is through distraction. This is carried out by some dentists as standard to help keep patients calm. For example, many dentists at Clifton Dental Studio play music or have the radio on in the background during treatment. If your dentist does not have a music player available, then why not take your own?
Suffering from any sort of phobia is a problem in itself in Swindon, but suffering from dental phobia can pose a serious problem to the health of your mouth and your body. There are numerous reasons why you may fear a trip to the dentists and only you know why, but it is important to get on top of this problem otherwise you will be denying the treatment you need to avoid serious complications in the future and Clifton Dental of Bristol can offer you all of the help you need. It may sound scary, but the best thing you can do is confront the devil head on and pay a visit to your dentist to talk about your worries. By just doing this, you have already taken a leap of faith and what will come out of such a discussion just may take you to the next level- treatment. Now you can take things at your own pace and your dentist, versed in the art of dental phobia will allow you to call the shots on how and what you want from your treatment. They can offer you an array of ways to make the procedure painless and care-free with the latest anesthetics around, plus, some of the new laser treatments have completely removed the pain that a scalpel and drill used to inflict on their victims. It is never going to be easy confronting something you hate and dread, but if you want to keep yourself healthy and not to compact the problem even further by letting you fall into disarray, then you must gather yourself, stand strong and confront the problem face to face. And if you overcome this, you can overcome anything in life.
Dr Gerrard is a Bristol based Cosmetic dentist with many years of experience and is one of only a small number of dentists accredited by The British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
Phobias can be a very real problem for some people and the causes can be deep rooted in your psyche; most people will shut them away and avoid anything that brings them to the surface. However, this can lead to a real problem if you suffer from dental phobia- you are caught in a catch 22 situation here; you need the treatment for your oral health, yet the fear can prevent you from getting it. Now, you need to be strong and confront this darkness that scares you, and it won’t be easy in the beginning, but you have to crack this and the only way is to seek out professional counselling. There is a big irony here because it should be your dentists that you talk to. These people understand your fears and the problems that phobias can bring to the chair. Go slow at first, open up and get things off your chest and when you are ready your dentist can then walk you through the range of modern treatments, sedation techniques and other methods to relax you during procedures. Don’t let this phobia get in the way of your needs and fight it. If you want further help on this condition then get in touch with Clifton Dental of Bristol, for they will advise you about your phobia and ways of getting around it.
Your oral health is a very important aspect of your life: keeping your teeth and gums clean and free of disease and decay is something you should be aware of each day and try to get right. Your dentist is also there to back you up if you need repairs when things go wrong. However, if you suffer from some level of dental phobia, this can prevent you getting the treatment you need to maintain your oral health, and if the teeth and gums fall into disrepair and situations become complex, it will make it doubly difficult to go for treatment. Phobias need to be flushed out and overcome and the only way to do this is to seek professional counselling to get to the root of what it is that scares you about going to the dentist, and strange as it seems, your dentist should be one of the people to talk to about this; they understand the nature of dental phobia and how it affects patients. The more you learn about modern dentistry, what is being offered and the more you chip away at your phobia- at your own pace, the more you can get involved with your treatments and make choices about what you would like to be done. This is a serious condition, but if you beat it, you can beat anything and remain healthy. For more advice on fighting your phobias, call Clifton Dental of Bristol; this team of experts can help you make the right choices in Swindon and help you to get over your fears.
