Anxious Patients

Feeling Nervous?

We understand that that dealing with dental anxiety can be a challenge to patients. It can often lead to unnecessary stress or even to people not showing up for dental appointments at all. We prioritise that all our patients are comfortable during dental treatment.

Remember, we have seen it all before, so our experienced team are here to assist you, offering a gentler approach to dentistry, in a fun, stress-free environment. Our friendly dental team will never rush and will always ensure they provide plenty of time to fully discuss treatment and address any questions you may have. Smile4U offers many solutions to help keep you comfortable and distracted during your visits. This includes ceiling mounted TV with noise cancelling head phones with access to your favourite movies and TV shows for both kids and adults alike.

If you’re feeling anxious about your dental visit, please make this known to our friendly reception team so we can help put you at ease.All our initial consultations simply involve painless photo’s and x-rays and the use of a dental mirror to properly assess and diagnose your current dental health and ongoing needs. We will then take the time to discuss with you your dental needs and treatment options in addition to options to ensure your comfort during any treatment. This might involve the painless administration of local anaesthetic by our highly trained team, use of happy gas, oral sedation tablets and distraction therapy.

In addition to bring a kind, empathetic attitude to all our clients in a bright and light setting, we now offer sleep dentistry for individuals with severe dental anxiety.

What is Sleep Dentistry?

Sleep dentistry is more commonly known as sedation or general anaesthesia dentistry. It is mainly used for patients with dental phobias, those with anxiety or those that have difficulty in staying in a dental chair or coping with dental treatment.

What we offer:

Oral sedation, which are prescribed tablets taken before your treatment
Laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide), which usually used to help the patient relax.
General anaesthetic, where the individual is unconscious during dental treatment.

Our dentists are highly trained in its use and will be more than happy to chat about any concerns you may have.

Conscious Sedation

Many patients feel self-conscious about dental treatment or are nervous about visiting the dentist. We offer special care to our anxious patients through two forms of sedation to make their appointments more comfortable and relaxing.

Pre-appointment oral sedation with prescribed medications, such as Diazepam and Temazepam, can be considered for some individuals to help with anxiety and nerves.
The second type is inhalation analgesia, which is good if you don’t like needles. A small mask is placed over your nose and mouth, and you breathe in a mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen. This gas mixture will make you feel calm during your dental appointment. You remain awake and aware while receiving the sedation, but you will experience a deep sensation of peace and relaxation while the team work on your teeth.

Our team of dentists and nurses are specially trained to deliver these types of sedation and will make sure that you are always comfortable during your visit.

Benefits of Conscious Sedation

Allows you to be receive required dental treatment.
A trusted way to feel calm and relaxed during dental treatment.
A relaxed visit helps to increase your confidence at the dentist which is essential in long term dental health.

Laughing Gas (Nitrous Oxide)

We offer anxious patients the option of nitrous oxide sedation (also known as happy gas / laughing gas) at our practice. This helps to make the visit comfortable for most of our nervous patients, and is available for both children and adults. We may recommend it to our patients with dental phobia or for those who have some anxiety about dental treatments.

During treatment with nitrous oxide, our patients wear a comfortable, scented nose hood through which pure oxygen and nitrous oxide flows. Our patients experience feelings of relaxation, warmth and reduces the sensation of anxiety. We play relaxing music to create a calming environment. The use of nitrous gas is very carefully controlled and once treatment is complete, the effects subside within minutes. We recommend having someone transport you back home.

If you feel that nitrous oxide could help you during your visit, contact us to find out more.

General Anaesthesia

During general anaesthesia (GA), the individual is induced into a “sleep” phase during dental treatment. This helps to give our anxious patients peace of mind as general anaesthesia allows for minimal discomfort during the whole dental procedure. General anaesthesia brings about an extreme state of calm to the patient, where the body’s nervous system and pain receptors are fully relaxed. This can often lead to no recollection of the whole dental procedure when the patient wakes up.

Who is this suitable for?

Patients dealing with dental anxiety or fears of dental procedures
Patients with bad dental experiences
Patients with significant treatment needs
Patients with general anxiety disorders
Patients with low pain tolerance
Patients with small mouths
Patients with disabilities

If you feel that you or one of your loved ones fit into one of these categories and would like to learn more about sleep dentistry, the side effects and the costs, have a chat with one of our friendly dental team.

Feeling Nervous?

Conscious Sedation

Laughing Gas (Nitrous Oxide)

General Anaesthesia

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