Nervous Patients

Nervous or Anxious patients are treated using extra-time, expertise and Specialist skills too at our SmileSpecialist® Centre.
Continually through 2024 we are providing very gentle , safe and high-standards of personal dental care, at our Practice.

All forms of Advanced Cosmetic Dentistry are available to all, gently and including all Dental Implants, mini Implants, minimplants® immediate Dental Implants, Crowns, Bridges, Veneers, Precision Dentures, Tooth Bleaching, Teeth Whitening, Cosmetic Bonding, Latest Ceramic Restorations, Second Opinions, Smile Profiling, Gum Diseases, Tooth wear and worn, uneven teeth, Periodontal Plastic Surgery, TMJ's, Difficult Occlusions, Excessive Wear Cases, Root canal treatment, Trauma and Emergencies; Anxious or Nervous Patients welcome too!

SmileSpecialist.co.uk can help you Smile about your Dental well-being too!

Some Anxiety at the Dentist's is not unusual, however, there are a significant proportion of the public who are HIGHLY Anxious at the Dentists. Quite commonly, they will stay away from help for years, until something hurts, or breaks or smells bad in their mouths. Even then, some will resist coming to the Dentist, preferring instead to dose themselves up with painkillers, alcohol or other alternatives. Anything rather than face their greatest fear the Dental Practice.
Eventually, some pains come and go until, one day, the toothache is horrendous. All the drugs don't work anymore, the pain is just too great. Perhaps the toothache is so bad, they haven't slept for days, there whole head is throbbing, perhaps infection is causing blood poisoning or stomach problems too. So eventually, they feel forced to see the Dentist for an Emergency appointment.

SmileSpecialist.co.uk helps turns Worried Smiles into Happy Smiles


The patient is now highly anxious, possibly even shaking uncontrollably at the thought of an appointment, they are tired and in great pain and totally untrusting of this Dentist, whom they have never seen before. The Dentist does their best to reassure this Anxious person, who finds it difficult to sit still, is flinching everywhere, eyes bulging out and darting around trying to see everything that is going on. The patient AND the Dentist both find this situation very stressful, even
though they both want the same thing, to sort the (now extremely bad/difficult) problems out, by firstly getting rid of the pain.
Eventually, perhaps the patient lets the Dentist place a simple dressing that temporarily reduces the pain, with a further appointment made to start getting their mouth healthy again. The very anxious patient misses the next appointment (without phoning) because they aren't in pain now, so the whole cycle starts again! This patient ends up loosing all their teeth and has to manage with two wobbly pieces of plastic, called Dentures. Gums shrink, dentures are relined and remade,
but they do not perform or chew as well as their own teeth did. A soft diet becomes the norm. and eating an apple seems like an impossibility.
The children also suffer, as this parent cannot face bringing them for regular visits either.

Is there a better way?


Absolutely YES !!! Nobody was born anxious to the Dentists, so good experiences can help to reduce any anxiety down to a controllable level.

Unsolicited thankyous for helping very anxious and worried patients


The above thankyou card is displayed with the Patient's permission.

 

Whether our patient or not, we would recommend the following approach:

1. Don't just attend in pain - that just associates negative feelings with the Dentist. It would be like waiting until your car broke down before taking it for servicing. You wouldn't be suprised if it needed much work then, would you. Although you may "scrap" your Car and get a new "better" one, if you "Scrap" your teeth, Dentures are NOT a substitute for teeth, they are a substitute for nothing!


2. Tell any Dentist you are very anxious or nervous and ask if "extra" time can be set aside for your visit. If they say no, then consider another Practice or go Private. You need time.


3. See the same Dentist every time, if possible. You get to know them and they understand and remember your particular needs better.


4. Go more regularly to your Dentist. This may sound crazy, but it actually helps you greatly. You stay healthier too, so you need less treatment and have less problems! Remember, regular visits mean you spend LESS time at the Dentist (because you are healthier!) overall.


5. Seek out more advanced techniques. For example, there are decay dissolving gels that reduce the need for injections or drills. There are also useful prevention techniques too, such as sealing teeth against decay. This is good for Adults and Children too.


6. Making that first step is the hardest. Once you find a Dentist that understands your problems, take their advice and get back in control of your feelings, the sooner the better. Get Dentally sorted so that you can easily maintain Dental health - this includes prevention techniques!


7. If the above fails, consider Medical Hypnosis to help you get back in control of your feelings, or ask your Doctor to recommend a specific Counsellor who has helped other similar cases. We understand that the first step is the hardest, but you weren't born anxious to the Dentist, past experiences or events have led you to feel this way - the good news is that this problem can be reversed and you can be proud of your smile once more!

The big problem most people have is the "lack" of time that NHS Dentists or Doctors can allocate to "Anxious" patients. With all the cuts, rationing, increased NHS paperwork as well as the pressure on NHS clinicians to reduce waiting lists and "boost" patient numbers seen, something has to give and sadly individual Time often gets rationed on the NHS too! This was predicted to get even worse from 1st April 2006, when the DoH forces a new "target-driven" contract onto Dentists and unfortunately this seems to be the case, though the government would never admit it!

Unfortunately NHS Dentistry problems with high volume targets and little time per patient, have simply got worse and worse, year on year :(

Tony Kilcoyne complaining on Channel 4 NHS Dentistry is too rushed and not fit for purpose

You may find that by "purchasing" more time and advanced "painless" techniques, that your previous bad experiences can be left in the past, where they truely belong - however, this may mean that you will have to fund your Dental visits Privately if you want more time for the best care to meet your needs, in a way that you prefer. In my experience, extra care and time is important for ALL patients if we are to avoid any unpleasant experiences, but especially so if you are already Anxious to start with - rushing you through a "very busy" NHS system may not meet your particular needs sufficiently.

How anxious are you?

Why not take this simple dental Anxiety Questionnaire to find out:

Dental Anxiety Scale for Patients to be scored


Most nervous patients had a bad experience in childhood, when they were most impressionable, at a time when Dentistry was at it's most basic.
It wasn't really Dentists or patient's fault, they just didn't have all the advanced techniques, materials and treatment skills we have today.
With the right amount of time, skills and advanced techniques available today, there is no reason why Dentistry shouldn't be comfortable,
reliable and cosmetically pleasing too! It may be that you just haven't accessed this type of care yet!

Whilst we know we have the time and skills to help you, don't worry if you cannot get to us in Yorkshire - there are other Practices that can help too!


We have a fine reputation for both the Quality of our Modern Dentistry AND the comfortable and caring way we deliver our Care.
It is most unfortunate that we have had to withdraw from the Rationed NHS GDS Dental system in England in order to not drop our very high standards.
However, most people realise that Quality is more important than Quantity, when it comes to working inside your mouth, even if that means funding their Dental Care Privately - but with some Dental plans starting from less than £5 per week if your mouth is in reasonably good condition, many chose Private Dentistry as an extremely "good value" choice that doesn't compromise the highest level of regular care they wish to receive. Only you can chose what "Dental Care" is worth to the Quality of your Life!

This isn't about NHS verses Private Dentistry, they are both needed to benefit Society and offer proper choices and hopefully one can positively influence the other, work with the other and actually be recognised as synergistic for the OVERALL needs of our Society!

Please call us on 01535 644005 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to access our Expertise.

Why not take that first step and find the Dentist or Specialist who can help you achieve what you want from Modern Dentistry today. Leave the past where it belongs, in the past. A new beginning awaits you.

The Importance of good Aftercare and Maintenance for All !

As well as regular check-ups to your Dentist to prevent problems (or at least catch them very early-on), please follow your aftercare advice and don't neglect your Toothbrushing and Flossing Techniques that reduce Dental Plaque attack on your teeth, gums and dentistry work.
Want to know more about brushing and Flossing techniques that prevents bad breath and keeps your Mouth and Dentistry Healthier too?

 

Please click on these links for Tooth Brushing Information or Dental flossing techniques or Preventing Gum Diseases links.
You can also use the above website menu or just click-a-link here for Specialist or Advanced aspects of Tooth VeneersTooth WhiteningDental Tooth Implants and smaller Mini-ImplantsDental Ceramic CrownsGum Diseases and Bad Breath or Root Canal treatments are just some of the subjects you can learn more about here on our award winning dental website www.smilespecialist.co.uk.

*Dr.Kilcoyne is a UK registered Specialist in Prosthodontics (GDC No.58373) which includes The Functional and Cosmetic Dentistry aspects of Crowns, Dental Implants, Bridges, Veneers, Fillings, Dentures, Bonding etc. Please go to our MAKE an APPOINTMENT page if you'd like to access his Expertise.

From the SmileSpecialist® Centre, we wish you well and hope the above information and ideas have been helpful.

 

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