Dental Phobia

Dental phobia is one of the main reasons people don’t go to the dentist.  Their fear is much stronger than that of someone who is anxious about having dental work done.  People with dental phobia have the “fight-or-flight” response each and every time they visit the dentist.  This can result from previous traumatic experience, the expectation of feeling extreme discomfort while having treatment done, or having an accident where a person needed stitches in or around the mouth causing them to keep that scary moment in memory.  At Danville Family Dentistry we understand that some of our patients feel this way.  We help them through their fears and make new memories of happier, more comfortable dental experiences.  When seeing a patient for the first time, Dr. Erickson will sit and talk with the patient about past dental experiences and about any fears or concerns.  We create an environment where you can relax and experience a “not-so-intimidating” dental visit.
In fact, we offer several solutions to many causes of such dental phobia.  For example, sometimes the noises of instruments cause the patient to be fearful, so we offer headphones for them to listen to music or watch a movie.  This helps take their mind off of what is going on around them and allow them to relax.  We also utilize newer technology such as digital x-rays to reduce dental fears.  This allows us to take films more comfortably and faster (this particularly helps patients who have strong gag reflexes or sensitive mouths).  We adapt our treatment to each and every patient so that we may provide dental care as comfortably and easily as possible.  To learn more about our other dental services please visit our website at danvilledentalcare.com.