Easing A Fear of The Dentist
My favorite moments as a dentist have very little to do with dentistry.
Don’t mistake me: While I’m proud of my skills and the talent of my staff,
those moments which stand out to me in my service to St. John and Valparaiso
patients has almost nothing to do with the success of this or that difficult
procedure.
No, the best moments for me are when patients like you come in and face your
fears.
And if you’re one of the millions of Americans who suffer from a psychological
condition known as dental anxiety – or if you’re one of the many, many more who
are uncomfortable of the idea of pain – then the face of your fears is, well,
me.
Although dental anxiety is good fodder for a New Yorker cartoon, it’s
definitely no laughing matter when it comes to the health of your smile – or
should I say lack of health: Typically, patients who avoid seeing the dentist
out of fear also tend to be patients of no dentist at all.
It is quite the understatement to say this is a bad, bad thing. Obviously, if
you’re not going to the dentist (whatever your reasons), then you are not
getting the professional care that your smile needs in order to remain free
from dangerous infections or dysfunctions which can already be working to
undermine your smile right now as you read this blog.
I’m not exaggerating, but to put it another way, think of a smile that hasn’t
been examined in quite some time by your dentist in St. John as, say, an old
refrigerator. For whatever reason, this refrigerator hasn’t been cleaned out,
nor its contents thoroughly rotated, in a long, long time – in fact, let’s say
that fridge has been ignored as long as you’ve gone without seeing the dentist.
Now I want you to imagine opening that refrigerator and breathing in deeply
through your nose.
Not the most pleasant picture, is it? Well, if you wouldn’t let a refrigerator
go that long without some basic maintenance, then why should you let your smile
go without
All of the logic in the world won’t be enough to get you to budge and make an
appointment, so instead, I want to talk with you about a type of dentistry that
completely sidesteps this whole problem by making you calm enough to accept
treatments which could save your smile from ruin!
Sedation Dentistry To Erase Your Fears
While my team and I make a great effort to ensure that your experience with us
is as relaxing as possible from start to finish, I’ve learned that presentation
isn’t always enough.
Some people have a very sensitive gag reflex, and no amount of soft music or
mood lighting can overcome what is a very real physiological symptom of their
fear. The patient kind wind up feeling frustrated and inadequate, and at the
end of the day they won’t have received the treatment that they desperately
need.
Thanks to sedation dentistry, however, I can calm the nerves of even the most
anxious patients (even you!) so that they can calmly and gently accept the services
I can provide.
Basically, all it involves is giving you a mild sedative (usually diazepam,
otherwise known commercially as Valium) about an hour or so before your
procedure is to begin, and once it starts to kick in you will notice a
significant drop in your anxiety levels.
This will allow me and my staff to go about delivering the care you need
without having you squirm in your seat and potentially disrupt the treatment
and cause extra damage to your smile in the process.
Finding The Courage To Make A Call
There’s no pill for courage, unfortunately (at least not yet), so that means I
still need you to work up the nerve to make an appointment so that you can save
your smile from any hidden conditions lurking around in there.
I have two locations in Northwest Indiana for your convenience. If you live in
St. John, give me a call at 219-322-9920. If Valparaiso is where you hang your
hat, so to speak, then call me at 219-462-1970.
Regardless of where you call home, you can click here to request an appointment
with either location.
About Us
Creating Smiles, PC, located in St. John and Valparaiso, Indiana, offers everything you need for a healthy smile and a healthier life. Dr. Kapers and his team can take the anxiety and uncertainty out of dental visits with sedation dentistry, and we're the premier provider of dental implants in the region.