Numbing Away

Yesterday, we had a patient who was traveling pretty far away, just to come to our office for a new patient consultation.

Her big motivator, was that she wanted to go to an office that treated Dental Anxiety patients.

She had avoided making this dental appointment for years.

She had been thinking about making the appointment for a very long time, before she pulled the trigger.

She came in, and as we do with all our patients, we asked her, “What motivated you to pick up the phone and call us?”

She told us that she had a tooth that broke a while ago, but it wasn’t giving any discomfort. She wanted to be proactive and take care of it before it began giving her problems.

Now, from the beginning, she let us know that she had dental anxiety and was very anxious when she made her appointment.

Then I dived in deeper and asked, “What was it, about the dentist, that made her nervous?”

She then shared with me a story about when she was younger, that the dentist had drilled on her tooth and she was not fully numb. Ever since that time, she has been nervous about going to the dentist and fears that she will feel the drill or pain, during the procedure.

I reassured her that she would be completely numb and we would not proceed until she was fully numb. The second she feels anything, we will stop and give her more anesthetic.

Making sure that our patients are completely comfortable, is our first priority. We do not move forward with the procedure until that level of comfort is established.

Listening to the patient’s pain concerns, acknowledging them, and then addressing them, is how your control dental anxiety.

If you are looking for a dental office that will help you manage your anxiety and eventually overcome your dental anxiety, please visit us at mydente.com or call 773-292-1911 to schedule an anxiety-free consultation.

Floss Like a Madman!

Emilio “Good Vibes” Couret