Dental anxiety is often triggered by an unfortunate bad past experience, which remains imprinted on our emotional memory. This is very common. In fact some of our dentists had this in the past before they became dentists themselves!
The first line option for helping with dental procedure anxiety is nitrous oxide or "happy gas". Happy gas is not meant to put you to sleep but instead will relax you during treatment. It is easy, quick and has a long history of safety. The amount of gas delivered (with oxygen) is tailored for your own personal needs. Our dentists will check-in with you regularly during the procedure as well to ensure you are as comfortable as possible.
The next-best thing about happy gas is that you can resume your normal activities once the treatment is complete as the gas leaves your system fairly quickly after the procedure.
Whilst not everyone may be suitable for happy gas, our dentists will discuss other options with you.
Other recommendations to help with dental anxiety:
- breathing relaxation exercises
- avoiding caffeine on the day of the procedure
- getting a good night's rest
- speaking to your dentist about this before the start of any treatment