Methods Used In The Management Of Dental Anxiety
The reasons for dental phobia are multifactorial and therefore there is no “one-stop solution” for management which will work for each and every patient.
Time and careful planning needs to go into the dental surgery environment, a relevant evaluation of the patient to identify their reason and level of anxiety are the essential elements to enable the dentist in deciding a proper treatment plan.
Broadly speaking dental anxiety can be managed by psychotherapeutic techniques, pharmacological agents using either sedation or general anesthesia , or a combination of both, depending on the patient. Non-pharmacological methods must always be used first and are extremely effective for 95% of nervous patients.
Because each patient is different and anxiety disorders can be triggered by even the most normal situations such as ringing up the practice to make an appointment, this means if you as a practice are gearing up to treat more nervous patients more effectively you need to look into every aspect of your practice, starting off with the dental practice environment.
The dental treatment environmental ambience does play a significant role in allaying or conversely escalating a patient’s dental fear and anxiety. The correct environment and behaviour of staff is the first step which ensures nervous patients can start their journey on the right footing. This results in better oral health and regular attendance.
Furthermore, if an emergency dental problem does arise, the patient is more likely not to delay and will seek to see the dentist immediately which in turn leads to sorting out the problem more conservatively and more quickly which in turn bodes well for future care and attendances.
