Dental Phobia/Anxiety
What is Dental Phobia or Dental Anxiety?
Dental Phobia or Dental Anxiety are names given to the feelings of fear, anxiety or stress that can be felt around going to the dentist.
How will I know if I experience Dental Phobia or Dental Anxiety?
Symptoms of Dental Phobia or Dental Anxiety that you may experience are:
- Sudden increase in heart rate / heart palpitations
- Sweating
- Low blood pressure (possibly resulting in fainting)
- Feeling of panic or dread
- Crying or visible distress
- Trouble sleeping before an appointment
- Humour to mask negative emotions
These symptoms may occur before or during your dental appointment.
What causes Dental Phobia or Dental Anxiety?
People can develop Dental Phobia or anxiety for a variety of reasons such as:
- Previous traumatic dental experience
- Fear of needles
- Non-related anxiety/stress/PTSD/nervous conditions
- Fear of loss of control
- Fear of choking
- Trust issues
- Fear of pain
- Fear of embarrassment
What can be done about my Dental Phobia or Dental Anxiety?
At Cairns Dental Anaesthetic Centre, we take your anxiety or phobia very seriously. Your comfort and wellbeing is our top priority. Sometimes simply knowing what is coming can alleviate your fear. That’s why our gentle dentists will ensure that everything is explained clearly and you are happy to proceed before they do anything.
If you feel that sedation or general anaesthetic would be of benefit to reducing your anxiety then we can accommodate you with those options. At our facility we are able to offer general anaesthetic and sedation here in our clinic with a team of highly qualified anaesthetist, recovery nurses and experienced dental surgeons, Dr Smith or Dr Slatcher.
We are happy to work with you to make your dental experience as calm and relaxing as possible. Don’t let fear of the dentist result in poor dental health.