Fear of the dentist affects approximately one in six adults in the UK. This fear can range from slight anxiety to major phobia, complete with panic attacks at the mere thought of visiting a dental practice. Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we are committed to helping nervous patients to overcome their anxieties, enabling them to get the treatment they need and the smile they deserve.
There are many causes of fear of the dentist. It may be a bad experience in childhood, or a particular trigger such as the sound of the drill or the sight of a needle. In other cases fear of being out of control, embarrassment or fear of judgement if you haven’t visited the dentist in many years may be the trigger, whilst in some cases there is no specific identifiable cause of dental phobia.
At our Harley Street practice our whole team is highly experienced in treating nervous and phobic patients, and have a number of options that can be tailored to suit your individual needs.
We believe that in many cases talking through your fears in a relaxed, comfortable setting will help. All treatments and analgesia requirements will be explained in depth before you start your treatment, and you can ask any questions and raise any concerns you may have.
Your dentist will devise signals for you to give should you require a break during a procedure – don’t worry about holding us up, we factor enough time into appointments to cover this, and understand that everybody needs to take time out sometimes.
Our Harley Street clinic is equipped with in-chair entertainment, so you can listen to music or an audiobook, or watch your favourite film or TV show to help you relax during treatment.
We also offer hypnosis to help with anxiety, as well as treatment under inhalation or intravenous sedation.