Scared Of The Dentist And Nervous About Sedation? We Can Help!

Dental fear is nothing to feel silly about: it affects countless people and can prevent you from getting necessary care to keep your teeth healthy. At 7 O’Clock Dental we’re glad we can offer sedation for our patients that are nervous, but what if you’re scared, nervous, or just plain uncomfortable with drugs that affect your consciousness or put you under? You’re in a tight spot!

We know that not everyone is okay with taking a psychoactive drug, even in a safe and controlled environment like our New Orleans office. If you find yourself in that position, or would simply rather find relief without needing to deal with sedatives, we want to help you find the answer.

Understanding Your Fear: The First Step In Beating It

When you have a reaction to something like dentistry, or any other phobia-type fear for that matter, your body is having a perfectly natural reaction to a perceived threat. We tend to call this reaction anxiety, and if you’re scared of the dentist you’ve probably had it before: obsessive worry, a racing heart, inability to focus … the symptoms just go on and on!

The “natural” part of that fear reaction is what you need to confront. You probably had a bad experience at the dentist in the past, which had made you nervous. Or it could be that you’re worried about a lecture for not taking good care of your teeth. Perhaps you’ve just watched “Little Shop Of Horrors” one too many times and the dentist song has given you a complex. All of these causes, and any others you can think of, all have something in common: they’re due to a past experience.

Your body is reacting to the memory of fear or pain that’s been with you since that bad experience. You’re subconsciously assuming that your future dental care at 7 O’Clock Dental is going to be just as bad, and you might not even realize it! There’s the key to beating your fear!

Challenging The Past

A fender-bender doesn’t stop you from driving. Falling on the ice won’t keep you inside all winter, scared to leave the house. One bad date doesn’t ruin your love life forever – so why should a bad dental experience keep you away from needed care?

Thinking about it that way makes it seem silly, doesn’t it. Sure, your previous dentist might not have been your perfect match, but that doesn’t mean you should be scared of dentistry for life! To defeat that dental anxiety you have to realize what it really is: your brain playing tricks on your body because it’s scared of the past.

You don’t have to spend years stuck in a loop of dental fear and anxiety once you realize how to face it. We know it can still be hard to confront a bad dental care experience even with the realization that the past shouldn’t control your future. It’s not that easy for everyone!

Our entire team is dedicated to making dental care experiences like yours great. We know it can be frightening, anxiety-provoking, and downright terrifying to have someone rooting around in your mouth. We try hard to make our dental practice a welcoming place that will never be a lecture-filled drill factory. You’re in good hands with us!

We Want To Help!

Whether you want to seek fear relief with or without sedation we’re ready to do our best for you. We’ll always take our time to answer all your questions, explain every procedure, and even give you an opportunity to see the progress of your dental work as we’re doing it. Your experience is the focus of each and every thing we do at 7 O’clock Dental.

If you’re ready to put the past behind you and learn to defeat your anxiety call us – we’re ready to help you succeed. We’re also willing to provide you with a variety of dental sedation options to give you the extra push you need. You may be like a lot of our patients and only need sedation once. After that all the care you get is easy! Never hesitate to call us with any questions you have, or to schedule an appointment. You’ll be glad you did.

You can reach us at 504-266-0664 or you can request an appointment by filling out our online form. We look forward to seeing you soon!