If You Are Afraid of the Dentist

What we actually do differently

• Longer slots. Most dental fear is fear of being rushed while someone is working in your mouth. Booking more time is the single most effective thing we can change.
• A talk-only visit. No chair, no instruments, no examination. Some people need to meet the room before they can be treated in it.
• Numbing before the numbing. Topical anaesthetic gel on the gum before any injection, and a slow injection afterwards. The needle is rarely the painful part; speed is.
• A stop signal. Agreed before we start. Raise your hand and everything stops, immediately, without discussion.
• Video glasses and noise-cancelling headphones. Removing the sound of the drill removes a surprising proportion of the experience.
• No commentary you cannot follow. We tell you what we are about to do before we do it, in ordinary words.

If it has been years

A long gap is common and it is not a reason to stay away. It is also not something you will be lectured about — you already know, and being told again by a dentist has never once helped anybody.

In practice a long gap usually means more to look at, not more to fear. We find out what is there, sort it into urgent and not, and work through it at whatever pace you can manage.

Questions