Going to the dentist isn’t a pleasant thought for many of us. The reasoning behind these feelings are very valid and so are the solutions. Both adults and children are finding relief from the stress of the dentist with safe IV sedation brought to their New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont dentist.
Why suffer through the anxiety and pain if you don’t have to? This kind of stress can have detrimental affects on your emotional and physical well-being.
Trauma, Terror, and Toothpaste
The Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute article titled, “Trauma, Terror, and Toothpaste: Exploring Memories for Dental Visits Across a Range of Patient Fear”, highlights why adults and children have negative feeling about going to the dentist. This study highlights the apprehension felt about oral health care.
For child and adult patients across both studies, details about the most negative visits largely converged on experiences of threat, both in terms of the pain endured and the dentists who would elicit (and often could not be trusted to mitigate) that pain. The salience of these memories (particularly the ones from childhood) to adult patients and the ways their lifelong oral healthcare has been compromised are important lessons for practicing dental providers.
Many of these memories also highlight the important role of dentist–patient communication. Participants’ narratives described feeling blindsided by the actual procedures that occurred or ignored by the dental staff when articulating pain or concern.
Although they also appeared in adult narratives, they were particularly prominent in childhood memories. Indeed, there is a tendency among some pediatric dental providers to direct conversation at the consenting parent or guardian, at the expense of the child’s understanding.
Yet, research demonstrates that children as young as four express a desire to be involved in discussions about treatment, and it is a provider’s responsibility to ensure developmentally appropriate conversations with both parties to prevent fear.
If you think you or someone you love may benefit from sedation dentistry, we recommend you contact our specialist at Blue Sky Anesthesia Associates. We bring safe hospital level sedation to your dentist office. Our highest priority is reducing anxiety and ensuring safe dental care.
