Ask The Dentist – Nervous Patients

A mother asks about dental care for young patients.

We understand that many people wouldn’t put seeing a dentist top of their favourite pastimes, but for some, dental anxiety can even prevent them from receiving the dental care that they need. This question from a local patient in Burton, is quite typical.

Q. Unfortunately dental fear seems to run in our family. It took me a long time to face up to the fact that I needed to get my teeth sorted out, and since then, I have kept regular appointments, though I still get in a panic when the day of the visit arrives. To add to that, I married a man who is also afraid of dentists and I fear we have also passed that on to our young children too. So now we are looking around for the best possible dentist who is good with children. Could this be you and can you help us?

Thank you for the question, and starting children off from an early age with dental visits is likely to make them much less anxious as they get older. In addition, of course, it is good to spot any potential oral health issues early on so that any treatment needed will be less invasive and therefore less frightening for them. As regards whether we are suitable, the answer is yes. We have been an established family dentist in Burton for over thirty years, and, whilst we now also offer a wide range of cosmetic dentistry, family dental care is still a key priority for the whole of our team.

We regularly update our training to take account of new advice and procedures, and also our patient care which includes how we look after nervous patients. Children of all ages will find that our waiting room is well stocked with children’s books and there is a selection of toys to keep them occupied and help to distract them from any fears that might arise. All of our dental team understand how to examine children without making them excessively anxious and many of our staff also have children of their own too.

I think that the best advice that I can offer you is to try us out. Why not arrange to have an oral health check for all of your family and see how you feel about us afterwards? There will be no procedures on the day and you can be sure of a warm welcome from our experienced team. Naturally, we hope that you will enjoy your visit as much as possible and we feel confident that you will find our practice both friendly and relaxing.

If you would like to take us up on this offer, simply call Mike Allen’s Dental Practice on 01283 845345 and I look forward to seeing you all at our Burton practice when you arrive.