Brief Summary
Whitney, a dental hygienist, discusses strategies for overcoming dental anxiety and phobia. She emphasises the validity of these fears, which can stem from past trauma, negative experiences, or the clinical environment. Whitney advises open communication with dental providers, exploring the root causes of anxiety, and finding a dental office that suits individual needs. She also highlights the positive impact of dental procedure videos and community support in reducing fear.
- Acknowledge and validate your fears.
- Communicate openly with your dental provider about your concerns.
- Explore the reasons behind your anxiety, whether it's past trauma, specific procedures, or the environment.
- Consider watching dental procedure videos to familiarise yourself with the process.
- Seek support from online communities and dental professionals who understand your fears.
Whitney acknowledges that dental anxiety and phobia are valid feelings, regardless of whether the fear is related to a simple cleaning or a more complex procedure. She explains that these fears can arise from various sources, including past traumatic experiences, hearing about negative experiences from others, or unease with the dental office environment itself, such as the sounds of dental drills. Whitney makes it clear that she is a dental health professional, not a mental health expert, and the advice is based on her experience helping patients. She stresses that the video is not a replacement for advice from a licensed therapist.
Whitney explains that dental anxiety exists on a spectrum. For those who find it impossible to even enter a dental office, she strongly recommends seeking help from a therapist who specialises in anxiety. Even if you can force yourself to attend appointments but still experience nervousness, consulting a therapist is advisable. While therapy is beneficial, Whitney offers advice from her perspective as a dental hygienist.
Whitney stresses the importance of honesty and open communication with dental providers. By expressing your concerns beforehand, dental professionals can better accommodate your needs and make you more comfortable. Identifying the specific cause of your stress, whether it's fear of pain, sensitive teeth, or past trauma, allows the dental team to prepare and tailor the appointment to your needs. Communication helps to ease anxiety. Dental providers want patients to have a positive experience and return for continued care.
It's beneficial to identify specific triggers for dental anxiety. If past experiences are the cause, dental providers can work to rebuild trust through patience and gradual steps. For recent anxieties, like a patient's concern about a lead collar after thyroid surgery, Whitney suggests calling ahead to alleviate unnecessary stress. Whether it's the noises, the procedures, or uncertainty about what's happening in your mouth, communicating your preferences allows the dental team to accommodate you, whether that means providing headphones, explaining each step, or simply maintaining silence.
Some patients are more anxious about potential findings, such as cavities, than the cleaning itself. Whitney advises informing your dental provider how you wish to be informed of any issues – whether immediately or at the end of the appointment. While dental professionals are legally obligated to disclose any abnormalities, you have the right to choose when you are mentally prepared to hear the news.
Whitney acknowledges that having someone work in your mouth can feel intrusive, and trust issues are common. Dental professionals understand this and are willing to work with you. However, if you feel that your dental providers are not genuine, it may be a sign that the office is not the right fit for you. Finding the right dental office can be like dating – sometimes the first choice isn't the best match. Some offices offer therapy animals or nitrous oxide, while others simply provide a kind, non-judgmental environment. When searching for a dental office, ask about their approach to anxious patients.
Whitney shares two insights gained from making dental videos. First, some viewers have found that watching dental procedure videos reduces their anxiety by familiarising them with the unknown. Second, the comment threads on these videos demonstrate a supportive community where people encourage each other and share words of wisdom. These comments have inspired Whitney to create this video, hoping to empower others to overcome their fears. She encourages viewers to expose themselves to their fears through videos or seek support from others, and assures them that dental professionals are ready to provide care when they are ready.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “How To Overcome Dental Anxiety (Dentist Fear and Phobia)”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 hi everyone my name is whitney and i am a dental hygienist if you're new here welcome if you've been here before welcome back today we're going to talk about how to overcome fear of going to the dentist dental anxiety and dental phobia i just want to start by saying that your feelings are valid if you clicked on this video because you're stressed about going to the dentist don't be hard on yourself and also don't worry or compare if you're fearful about a teeth cleaning sometimes commonly referred to as a simple procedure or if you're stressed about a super involved dental procedure like a dental surgery whatever you are nervous about it is valid there could be multiple reasons why you are feeling this fear of the dentist it could be from past trauma maybe something happened when you were a kid and it's stuck in your mind it
0:45 could be hearing about someone else's bad experience you're afraid it's going to happen to you or maybe even your parents put this thought into your mind accidentally when you were a kid or maybe it's just the dental office environment in general the sounds of the dental drills sometimes can make people feel uneasy because of the unknown whatever the case let's talk about some strategies and ways to make it better but first i want to state my disclaimer i am in no way a mental health professional i am a dental health professional and this video is based on my experiences helping my patients cope when they are nervous about being at the dentist so please know this video does not replace the advice from a licensed therapist who treats anxiety now there are different levels of anxiety with anything there's always different levels some patients cannot step foot into a dental office they are not yet
1:31 ready to take that step if this is you i strongly encourage you to make an appointment with a therapist to treat anxiety that is a good solid starting point now if you are someone who is able to force yourself to go to your dental appointments but you still get nervous each time you should still consider talking to a therapist about it they will have much better advice than me but regardless if this is you here is my advice as a dental hygienist i recommend and have found the best results in helping anxious patients through their appointments is by encouraging them to always be honest and express their concerns beforehand this way us dental providers can better accommodate you and make you comfortable if you know the cause of your stress tell your clinician exactly where your stress is coming from in advance this way the dental provider is aware and can prepare things that can
2:16 accommodate your needs in advance and make you more comfortable throughout your appointment if i were your hygienist and you informed me about your fear i can definitely help you through it whereas if i didn't know about it then i wouldn't know how to help if you told me say you're nervous about pain are you nervous in general that something might hurt or is there a specific tooth that is always giving you pain and you're worried i'm going to touch it and make it worse if so let's find which tooth it is so i can be super gentle around the area and maybe we'll take an x-ray of that tooth before you're cleaning to see what's going on or are all of your teeth sensitive if so let's figure out why they are sensitive and then we'll give you recommendations on how to reduce the sensitivity we will figure it out together there are so many options in dentistry and there is not a one-size-fits-all answer but communicating communicating our
3:02 needs and expectations can often help ease your anxiety at the dentist we dental providers we want you to have a good dental appointment and we want you to want to come back to continue your care there is no judgment we are here to support you while maintaining the health of your gums and the health of your teeth so figuring out what makes you nervous at the dentist is something that's always good to start thinking about in advance it's okay to say everything but it really helps if you can narrow it down to something specific such as is it from past experience if so we can work to slowly gain your trust and prove to you that one bad experience will not define all of your experiences we are patient and we are willing to take baby steps and do whatever you're comfortable with when you're ready
3:47 unfortunately trauma from childhood bad dental experiences is a real thing but there are definite ways to overcome it is it because of one specific thing going on recently that has you stressed for example i had a patient once who recently had thyroid surgery and they were nervous if our x-ray apron had a lead collar attached to it or not they said they worked themselves up all morning trying to decide how they would decline x-rays if our lead apron didn't have the collar in this example i would have recommended the patient to call ahead and ask we could have got rid of so much unnecessary stress by simply calling ahead and asking we do have the lead collar and the patient was so relieved when i told them that and i remember they said something like oh good now i'll be able to relax for the rest of my appointment is it the noises sometimes if you bring headphones that can help drown out the
4:34 noises if they bother you or maybe you're someone who wants your dental provider to talk to you during the appointment you want to be distracted from what's going on if so that's cool just ask i'll tell you a story i'll tell you a bunch of stories or maybe you want to know exactly what's going on in your mouth that works too i'd be happy to tell you about each scaler i'm using and which tooth benefits from what type of scaler or maybe you want silence you want to meditate and do your own thing like focusing on breath techniques maybe that's you maybe not either way just tell us what works for you and we'll accommodate you again we want you to be comfortable and we want to support you with what you need to achieve comfort and if you have no idea you're not sure which method is going to make you comfortable that's okay too we can try them all and find out which one works best another dental stress that i've had lots of patients tell me about is that they
5:21 are nervous about what i might find in their mouth so some patients are not worried about the cleaning itself not worried about what they are there for in the moment they aren't worried about the noises and they don't have any past traumas but they do not want to hear if they need any future work done on their teeth such as cavity fillings for example in this case let me know how you want me to handle it if i do find something do you not want it mentioned until the end of your appointment or do you want to know right away we do have to legally tell you if we see a cavity or something abnormal in your mouth but it's up to you to choose at what point in your appointment that you plan to be mentally prepared to hear it again it's okay if you have no idea what bothers you at the dentist you get nervous and you're not sure why that is okay but if you can think about it think about those examples i just gave and try to determine if any of those ring true to you if so
6:07 mention it to your dental provider having someone work in your mouth can seem very intrusive and on top of that a lot of people have trust issues for many different reasons us dental people do not take it personally if you don't like us right away we totally understand and we're completely willing to work with you we want what's best for you that's why we chose the healthcare profession but if for some reason you're getting the vibe that your dental providers are not genuine maybe you're at a dental office that is not the right fit for you and that's okay too finding the right dental office is sometimes like dating your first choice you found online looked great online but maybe you weren't feeling their vibe when you met them if so i do have a video called how to find a good dentist which i will link in the bottom bar below if you're interested in learning more but truly some offices offer therapy animals some offer nitrous
6:54 oxide and some offices are simply a genuine kind non-judgmental group of professionals that will suit your needs whatever you're looking for in a dental office be sure to ask about it when you schedule your appointment when you're trying to find the right dental office for you it can't hurt to say right away hello what do you offer for your dental patients who are anxious flat out say i get nervous at the dentist how can you help me that is so open great communication great place to start okay i have two more things before we go that i'd like to share with you that i learned while making dental videos here online one is that some viewers have told me in the comments that my dental procedure videos have reduced their dental fear because being exposed to seeing what's going on in the mouth during certain dental procedures has benefited them i've seen comments
7:39 that say things like i forced myself to watch this and now i feel more prepared for my appointment today and that is so great because i never even realized how these procedural videos could help patients i always thought those videos would be more for dental people who like watching teeth be drilled you know but i learned that the exposure seeing the unknown can sometimes help you feel better and the second amazing thing that i want to personally share are the comment threads on some of these videos you all help each other out and give each other words of wisdom and are rooting for each other and saying not to worry i've seen the comment threads starting with things like i'm at the dentist right now about to get a filling i'm nervous help and everyone starts replying good luck you got this or i just had one it wasn't that bad at all that is so nice and please keep it up i am honored to be part of this teeth talk
8:25 community a community of people raising each other up and helping each other get past their fears and those comments have inspired me to make this video in hopes that i could raise you up to we all have the opportunity to overcome our fears and sometimes watching videos exposing yourself to something you are scared of can be great and benefit you or maybe not maybe you're not ready for that yet you will be soon but maybe first you need to talk to somebody about it you do you and when you're ready we dental professionals will be here ready to take care of you and your dental health i hope this video helped you please like and subscribe if it did i feel so passionate right now if you want to learn more about dental health you can visit my website teetstalkgirl.com where i have more articles and videos about healthy mouths and healthy teeth and until next time peace love and teeth
9:23 you
