There are a lot of people who are afraid of the dentist – estimates place the number as high as one in five patients with significant phobia of treatment! If you count yourself as one of those in this twenty percent of the population then dental treatment can be quite terrifying! You might avoid the dentist for any number of reasons, all of which can lead to problems with your oral health!
At Shorewood Family Dental Care, we try hard to make your treatment more comfortable. We like our patients to feel comfortable and at ease with us, so we’ll do whatever we can to help you feel better! Today we’re going to discuss some of the different reasons patients are afraid of the dentist and what we can do to help. We don’t think dental care needs to be frightening!
Fear #1: Pain
Think dental care can be painful? We know the discomfort of shots, drilling, probing, and other dental procedures so we work hard to provide pain-free dentistry. Any procedure that involves the potential for serious pain will involve anesthesia, so you’ll never have to worry about really hurting!
If you are still scared about pain, thus afraid of the dentist, we also offer several sedation options. Designed to help you achieve the perfect level of comfort! You can choose from nitrous oxide, oral sedation, and even IV sedation as well! Imagine coming in for your appointment and being able to sit in the chair with your dentophobia out of sight: we can make it happen!
Fear #2: Cost
In today’s economy it can be hard to find the money to pay for dental care. With the high price of dental insurance and the high deductibles for care your teeth are the last things on your mind sometimes! Financial worries are just one more reason people avoid going to the dentist, but we don’t want it to be!
We have a variety of financing options to help your care to be more affordable. We’ll work with your dental insurance to be sure that you’re getting the benefits you deserve, and we also take CareCredit, a great way to pay for your appointment! CareCredit works like a credit card that only works for medical care. It gives you time to pay off your expensive treatments, helping you get the care you truly need!
Fear #3: Bad Memories
Do you remember your dentist visits as a child? You might not, but that doesn’t mean a bad experience at the dentist hasn’t left you with a fear of dental care! Plenty of people have had a bad experience, either as a child or adult, causing them to be scared of the dentist!
At Shorewood Family Dental we believe that the personal approach to dental care is fundamental to good patient experiences. That’s why when our patients say they have bad memories we work hard to undo the damage caused! Our commitment to you is providing the comfort, care, and positive attitude that will make your previous bad experiences just wash away!
Fear #4: Lectures
Great, a trip to the dentist. How long has it been since you last went? Are your teeth clean enough? Can they tell when you haven’t brushed? If fears like this are going to keep you from going to the dentist, we want to make it perfectly clear that you’ll never have to worry about a lecture or being spoken to like you don’t understand.
We care a lot about the relationships we build with our patients, and we never want the dentist office to be a shameful place. In fact, if you’ve been away from care or have bad habits for your teeth we want to see you so that we can help correct any possible issues!
Our profession is all about caring, and that’s exactly what we want to do for you. We promise to never lecture you or make you feel ashamed. We’ll do our best to educate you and teach great habits with kind and encouraging language!
Hopefully you’ve found some explanations about our approach to your fear of the dentist helpful. Each member of our staff is dedicated to making sure that your care is the best it can be, and eliminating fear and anxiety is a major part of that!
If you have questions about our anxiety relief options or what we can do to help you with being afraid of the dentist, don’t hesitate to call! We’re available at 815-725-5991 or by online contact form – fill it out and submit and someone from our office will be glad to contact you during business hours!
