For many people, the thought of dental treatment is more than a “necessary evil”. It evokes extreme anxiety, and even total avoidance of care, to the detriment of their appearance, their health, and their comfort. Such feelings and emotions often originate from traumatic past experiences in childhood, and this becomes a learned event, bringing up feelings of fear and anxiety whenever any of the unpleasant parts of the past experience are encountered in the present. Thus, everything from smells, sights, sounds, or thoughts of the dental setting can cause extreme levels of fear and anxiety to surface. Indeed, many people don’t even remember a single past event in their lives to explain these feelings, because such learned fears may be vicarious experiences from parents or siblings, friends, or even the media, such as films, cartoons, or advertisements.
What behavioral science has demonstrated is that much of our emotional personality is rooted in the sum of our past-learned experiences. Personal responses to past events, whether conscious and known to us, or totally subconscious and not explained, do result in our style of behavior. A painful or frightening experience is remembered, and we act to protect ourselves from experiencing this again. In dental terms, a tooth extraction, or painful filling in childhood, coupled with the perceived observation of an “uncaring dentist” or even unprotective parents, can create a lifelong apprehension of the dental setting. The good news is that if we have pleasant, or comfortable, experiences in the present, we can extinguish, or erase, the past negative emotions, and relearn a whole new way of responding to those past cues that evoked fear and anxiety. Our new coping skills will now allow us to be anxiety-free and at ease.
With sedation dentistry, we at Hammond Pond Dental Associates believe in an in-depth approach to the management of dental-related fears and associated anxieties. Our protocols and techniques not only allow patients to become at ease and achieve comfort during procedures, but also to gain mastery over their past feelings of apprehension. A smile you have dreamed about and the dental health you know you need, become possible.
So how do we achieve this? Our dentists begin by conducting a very skillful and confidential interview to assess all the particulars of your past dental experiences, your present concerns, and most importantly, your future desires for your appearance and oral health. By mutually understanding the origin of your emotional experiences, we can begin to evolve a pathway for you to rewrite a new chapter on how to better cope with your emotions and feelings. During the process, we begin to know you better as you begin to know us. The old adage that “fears are soluble in a trusting relationship” is our goal.
Secondly, we offer the most suitable oral medications to relax and sedate you during treatment, often without a memory of the procedure. Support is also provided with nitrous oxide gas, which is inhaled by a small nose mask. Using this method alone allows a rapid recovery without the need for an escort to drive you home. Finally intravenous sedation can be used for advanced surgical procedures when indicated.
In addition, members of our staff are trained in the use of clinical hypnosis. A skill that is easily learned, hypnosis in the dental setting is very helpful when trying to control gagging, bruxism (tooth grinding), or generalized anxieties. With hypnosis, dental fears can be understood and often resolved without the use of medication.
It is our goal at Hammond Pond to become a group practice to which you can entrust your entire oral health and well-being, and to that end we are committed to your absolute comfort while helping you achieve your dental needs.
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