Easy Ways You Can Try to Help Ease Your Crippling Dental Anxiety and Phobia

When  it comes time to see the dentist, do you experience a suddenly increased heart rate and crippling anxiety? Dental anxiety is not something to be taken lightly. It is a severe issue for many dental patients. Finding a way to manage your dental anxiety is something that Drs. Todd Adams, Derek Tang and their team in Sunnyvale, California, would be happy to help you with. Below are some ways you can try to manage this anxiety.

Bring a Calming Presence

If you find that you are worried or feeling anxious about an upcoming dental appointment, bringing a peer with you who has a calming influence could help. Bringing a close friend, family member, or workout buddy with you, whom you know well, could help ease your anxiety while at your appointment.

Find a Distraction

When you are at the dental office, there are many tools and machines that are likely unfamiliar to you. This, combined with the various noises, is enough to make anybody anxious who suffers from any level of dental phobia. If you find yourself in a position where you are fixated on the things that bring anxiety into your life, find a distraction. Maybe there is a TV in the office you can try to fixate on, or you could even bring a pair of headphones with you to listen to music. Finding distractions can help ease your anxiety.

Look into Relaxation Techniques

There are many different types of breathing exercises and relaxation techniques that you can use to help you relax. Many dentists advise patients utilize some of these when anxiety hits at the dental office. Maybe even take a few minutes to meditate before coming in for your visit. One such deep breathing exercise is simply to close your eyes, take a deep, controlled breath in, and slowly let it out. This simple exercise can provide many benefits including lowering your blood pressure, relaxing your muscles, and slowing down your heartbeat.

Sedation Options

If you have trouble getting past your dental anxiety, speak with your dentist. They likely offer some form of sedation therapy for patients. For patients of Drs. Adams and Tang, there are nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation options available. To learn more about these sedation options, please call Derek H. Tang, DDS & Todd S. Adams DDS today at (408) 355-9292.

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