anxiety patient

Tips for anxious patients

Take a little nap and wake up refreshed with bright teeth! This is what some patients dream of before their dentist appointment – especially if a supposedly painful treatment is on the agenda.

This dream does not become a reality for us because we do not offer general anesthesia. And we have good reasons for that. It is not only since the tragic death of an 18-year-old fear patient in a Hamburg practice at the end of May 2016 that medical doctors have warned against the careless handling of general anesthesia. Even if all the high requirements for room and device standards are met and an anesthetist and qualified assistant initiate and discharge anesthesia, incidents can occur. For example, because the patient suffers from previous illnesses of which, as in the Hamburg case, he knew nothing at all.

Where does the fear of the dentist come from??

It usually results from the fact that the affected anxiety patients had a traumatic experience during a previous visit. Another cause lies in the expectation of the patients: they assume that they inevitably have to have pain. This is no longer the case today! Speak openly to all your fears, we will be happy to help you!

Local or general anesthesia?

Instead of the general anesthesia that is almost “fashionable” at the moment, we rely on the most modern methods of local anesthesia. They are gentle and act quickly, have proven themselves many times, effectively remove the pain from the patient and give us as doctors the opportunity to communicate with our patients even during treatment – and vice versa. We would like to briefly explain how the local anesthetic works and what different types of local anesthesia are available:

Teeth, gums, lips, tongue, cheeks, floor of the mouth and areas of the jaw can be anesthetized locally. The anesthetic blocks the transmission of pain and other stimuli to the nerves. So during the treatment you feel – nothing. The time of action of the local anesthetic depends on the medication and the mode of administration. Based on our long experience and expertise, we choose the anesthetic so that it is sufficient for the entire duration of the treatment. You don’t have to worry about suddenly being stung by a sharp pain! After the treatment, the anesthetic slowly subsides. While it takes between three and ten minutes for the anesthetic to take effect, it takes half a to three hours for it to completely subside. First the feeling returns in the teeth and jaw, then in the lips, cheeks and tongue.

Depending on the planned treatment, various anesthesia techniques can be used: infiltration anesthesia can anesthetize individual teeth, the surrounding bones and soft tissue covering them, smaller areas of the oral mucosa or the facial skin. The anesthetic is injected under the mucous membrane or near the root tip. The drug penetrates the bones and surrounding tissues and numbs the nerve endings. This method is mainly used in the upper jaw, as it has a relatively loose bone structure. In contrast, lead anesthesia is usually used in the lower jaw. The anesthetic is placed as close as possible to the nerve trunk, thereby anesthetizing the entire supply area of these nerves.

In intraligamentary anesthesia, the anesthetic is placed directly at the root of the affected tooth in the tooth holder. From there it spreads in the bone to the root tip. It only anesthetizes this tooth and not the surrounding soft tissue. In addition, rinsing solutions, sprays or ointments can numb the oral mucosa. This is called surface anesthesia. It is used to reduce the pain of injection and helps to fight gag reflexes with X-rays, impressions, the treatment of oral mucosal injuries and small treatments on the gums.

We offer particularly anxious patients additional help, for example in the form of calming or anxiolytic medications, which experience has shown to work very well. Because even fear should not be a reason for patients to accept the risks of general anesthesia.

How many patients are afraid of visiting the dentist?

The fear of visiting the dentist is relatively widespread. Research in western states suggests that between five and twenty percent of patients suffer from it. This fear almost always means that visits to the dentist are postponed, sometimes for years. The result: potential damage becomes even greater, and knowledge about it further increases patient anxiety. It doesn’t have to be: your dentist knows a number of different anesthetic options that you won’t have any pain with. Our practice places value on an appealing, informal atmosphere that releases fear and tension.

The best tips against the fear of the dentist

Most of the time our patients come to our practice with a smile because they know that they are being looked after well and that nothing bad happens to them. But there are also those who are pale around the nose and literally have a sweat of fear on their foreheads. According to surveys, every fourth German has a queasy feeling when he has to go to the dentist. Five percent even suffer from phobia, a pathological fear that keeps them away from the dentist even when the pain is bad. So today we want to give you a few tips on how to get a grip on fear or at least reduce it.

First of all I can only guess: silence is silver, speech is gold! Talk to us. A conversation creates trust and reduces fears. Let us know all your concerns, as this is the only way we can take them into account and respond accordingly. If you like, we will explain exactly which treatment steps are imminent. If you only frighten such details, we’ll leave it at that. We’ll just discuss that beforehand. We also know that it often takes some effort to make an appointment. Especially when the treatment has been postponed for a long time and you are afraid of a "timpani". It definitely doesn’t happen to us.

Our second tip: listen to music! The more you focus on it, the greater the fear of the treatment. Anything that changes your mind contributes to your reassurance. Simply load a few beautiful, relaxing pieces onto your smartphone or tablet (for example, there are countless albums with so-called “Easy Listening” music in the iTunes or Google Store – including the sound of the sea and twittering of birds). Then bring your headphones with you and deliberately search for space in the waiting room. Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training or yoga are also helpful for anxiety. Appropriate courses are offered by the VHS and private institutes.

Thirdly, we would like to give you good news: Pain used to be a part of the dentist in the past, but today it is no longer so – thanks to medical progress! Because there are now local anesthetics that work very quickly and well. Even the small puncture of the syringe is hardly noticeable today thanks to special methods. If you are concerned that the anesthetic wears off during the session or is insufficient, we can arrange a hand signal or other stop signal. This way we can respond to you at any time during the treatment – you do not have to “go through” anything. Last but not least: If you suffer from a real dental phobia, you can get professional help. Phobia is scientifically recognized as an anxiety disorder, and health insurance covers the costs of appropriate therapy. Around 70 percent of all phobics can be helped very well.

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