Relaxing at the Dental Office!

Worried about going to the dentist?

Contact us to request a self-relaxation CD to help you get the care you KNOW you need. This is a great tool to master stress even if it's not dentally related.  [But definitely NOT something to listen to in the car...]

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Relaxing Dentistry

It's getting easier at the dental office. New equipment allow us to work without anesthetics. New materials make getting numb easier when it is needed. There's the music, the TV, the caring hands that go out of their way to be gentle.

Nevertheless, for some people this is not enough, and going to the dentist is still a "white knuckle" session.

If this is the case for yourself, your loved ones or your friends, you should ask your dentist about other ways of having a relaxed dental visit.

Oral medications

Some techniques that have worked very nicely for us include providing oral medications that let you cruise through a dental appointment. You're awake, but just not anywhere near as concerned over what is going on around you.

While these light medications work nicely, they do take some time to disappear from the bloodstream. At times, we may advise that someone drive you to and from the office.

Nitrous Oxide

Sometimes we'll employ nitrous oxide or "laughing gas" to help patients be more relaxed. Again, you are awake and have all your necessary reflexes like swallowing. You can talk, although we discourage it.

Nitrous is delivered through a small cup that fits over the nose. The gas has sort of a rubbery smell. People describe a nice, floating sensation with sort of a buzz or tingle, especially in the fingers.

Sometimes the surrounding sounds fade into the distance. At times, patients describe having deep thoughts. We believe this happens because the nitrous allows you to concentrate intensely and separates you from normal distractions.

Sleep Dentistry

Even with nitrous oxide and oral medications combined, some patients may still feel that they wish to experience the absolute minimum during a dental appointment. Perhaps, then, we will suggest that they be fully asleep during their procedures.

For maximum safety we work with a trained and licensed anesthesiologist who will monitor every step of the procedure.

Working this way minimizes use of anesthetics, and we may be able to compress a number of appointments into one.

Hypnosis

"I can't be hypnotized," is the comment we hear all the time, yet most adults can achieve a very relaxed state, often in a rather short time.

We believe that we are guides or teachers and that most people have the ability to relax themselves.

Generally, we will have one or two practice/training sessions prior to the actual appointment for the dental treatment. Frequently, we will combine hypnosis with nitrous oxide administration for additive effect.

Self Relaxation

Our lives are frequently stressful and driven. Having a tool to reduce anxiety immediately is very valuable. It can eliminate both the discomfort we feel and the roadblocks to success we often set up by feeling anxious.

1. Sit in a chair in a quiet place and picture yourself in a stressful dental or non-dental situation. A dental situation can be either an anticipated dental experience or a difficult past dental experience. A non-dental situation may be speaking in front of an audience. First, stand outside yourself and watch yourself in the difficult situation. Next, experience being in the difficult situation by looking at it though your eyes. As soon as you feel physical discomfort, go on to the next step.
   
2. Close your eyes. Travel inside your body with your mind and find the area that feels especially stressed. This may be in the stomach, chest, head, shoulders, hands or arms. This area feels different and separate from the rest of your body. Think of the degree of discomfort as a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst.
   
3. Because the area feels isolated, you will be aware that it has borders and a shape. Explore its borders, shape and the surrounding areas with your mind. Is it round, oval or square? Is it a large area or small? Is the border very defined or loosely defined? How deep does it go? Does it go all the way to your back? Halfway? Or is it shallow and just under the surface? Does it feel solid, mushy or fluttery? Now that you are familiar with it, let's complete the following steps to manipulate it.
   
4. Open up the border of the area and let it spread out into a wider area. Take as long as necessary. Once you do it, you'll know the value of it. When successful, check the degree of discomfort on a scale of 1 to 10. Most likely, it will be lower than 10.
   
5. Make the area smaller, to the size of a ping-pong ball. Visualize a space opening in front of the area and move the ping-pong ball into that space. Now, move it back and check out how it feels on a scale of 1 to 10. You're getting control over your anxiety.
   
6. To accomplish complete control, open a pathway 'like the Red Sea parting' from wherever the discomfort is to your throat. Now move the ball into your throat. Take a deep breath and blow the ball out through your mouth. Once again, check to see where you are on the 1 to 10 scale. Is there any discomfort left? Take another deep breath and blow out the rest of it.

(From our friend Dr. Marvin Mansky in New York)

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