Gentle, Compassionate Dental Care in the Eugene-Springfield Area
Far more common than people think, Dental Phobia, Dental Fear or Dental Anxiety affects as many as 30 to 40 million people in the U.S. This very real, often paralyzing fear of dental care has serious repercussions, as people will chronically avoid seeing a dentist, which leads to serious dental problems that could have been avoided, in addition to experiencing overall health issues that stem from poor oral health.
ArDent Care Dental: your Eugene / Springfield Dentist specializing in relief from Dental Phobia:
Relax in comfort and find gentle relief from dental anxiety with gentle, compassionate care from Dr. Renee Watts and the ArDent Care staff. Dr. Watts Dr. Watts and her staff listen carefully, understand your concerns, and can adapt the treatment to make you comfortable. Every part of your visit to ArDent care is tailored to make you as comfortable as possible, including simple things like headphones, high-technlogy equipment to reduce vibration, as well as Sedation Dentistry options that let you relax through your dental visit.
Lack of Dental Care Creates Overall Health Problems and Risks!
By putting off your dental checkups and exams, minor problems with your teeth can become more serious, and require longer or more difficult procedures. Most problems with your teeth–cavities, bleeding gums, sensitivity to hot or cold–are the product of decay-causing bacteria, and it is the consistency and frequency of dental care that “interrupts” the progress of that bacteria! Read more about how cavities happen. So by “putting it off just a little bit longer”, you give that bacteria a chance to do greater damage. And that greater damage can lead to difficulty chewing, leading to poor nutrition, poor health, and greater risk to other maladies.
Is Dental Phobia and Dental Anxiety the same thing?
Bascially yes, but the two terms do denote a difference in the degree that it affects both adults and children. Dental Anxiety is the term used for people who experience a sense of uneasiness about seeing the dentist, feel nervous or sick to their stomach, or have exaggerated fears or worries about a dental visit.
Further along the scale, Dental Phobia is a term describing a more serious condition that makes people so terrified or striken with panic that they cannot function like they normally would. Those with Dental Phobia have an understanding that their fear is not entirely rational, but cannot seem to do anything to change their fears. Sadly, people that experience Dental Phobia often only make it to the dentist when they experience extreme pain.
What leads to Dental Phobia and Anxiety? What are some solutions?
There are many reasons why people avoid the dentist, but some common triggers for those feelings of fear and anxiety can include:
- Fear of Pain: Obviously, nobody wants to experience an uncomfortable–never-mind painful–procedure, and the perception that your visit might be painful is the biggest reason people avoid going to the dentist. Perhaps you’ve had a bad experience before, or have heard some kind of “horror story” from someone else.
- ArDent Care specializes in pain-relief! Thanks to the many advances in dental equipment and techniques, procedures have changed drastically in just the last few years, both reducing the time and the impact for each patient. But most importantly, the staff at Eugene, Oregon’s ArDent Care is specially trained to make sure you are as comfortable as possible. In addition to attentive, personalized care, there are lots of options, including sedation dentistry.
- Feeling a lack of control or helplessness: These feelings are totally understandable, and can also stem from experiences where somone else didn’t hear your needs, or make it clear to you what was going on. That’s unsettling even if you’re just getting your car fixed, and can be terrifying for something much more personal like your teeth!
- At ArDent Care, you are always in control…every minute! Dr. Renee Watts has dedicated her practice, and specifically trained her staff, to work closely with evey patient and fully understand each person’s individual needs. Some things might bother you more than others, and each person helping you will make time to check in and get a complete understanding of how to make you as comfortable as possible. And you never have to “just tough it out” at ArDent Care: the staff is great at checking in with you at each step of the procedure so you know what’s next, or establishing hand signals so you can stop things if you need to adjust, or just catch your breath.
- Needles! Fear of Injections, or fear that the numbness won’t work, or be strong enough: The idea of a needle–in your mouth–is a big reason people avoid the dentist. And after the injection itself, what if it doesn’t work, or isn’t enough?
- ArDent Care has the latest technology; no giant syringes/needles here! This is definitely one of those cases where the “latest and greatest” really, really is a huge improvement. Using the “Comfort Control” syringe system, the staff at ArDent Care can safely an easially control the location and amount of numbess. Yes, it’s still a needle, but before that even happens, we can use a swab-on numbing gel so that the needle is as painless as possible. And it’s easy to give more numbess as the procedure contiues. By checking in consistently with you all along the way, you can be sure that you’ll be as comfortable as possible. Again, sedation dentistry is always an option too.
This Dentist is here to Listen to your needs. Really.
Every authority and article will tell you that the most important way for you to cope with Dental Fear is to communicate with your dentist about your concerns, and what you need. At ArDent Care, we are professional listeners. We make the time to ask you questions, and answer yours. And that doesn’t stop when the procedure starts…a spirit of openness and a willingness to listen to your needs is our priority throughout your dental exam, teeth cleaning, or other procedure. Have questions? Give us a call. We’d love to hear from you.