Scared of visiting the dentist? How our dental team at Craigentinny can help you get back control

When the thought of visiting your dentist for a check-up brings you out in a sweat, be aware that you are not alone in this world.

In a survey of phobias experienced around the world, fear of the dentist or ‘dentophobia’ usually comes in the top 10 most commonly reported phobias, with more than 60% of all dental patients reporting some degree of worry about an upcoming dental visit.

This trend has not gone unnoticed by dental professionals; many dentists, NHS or private are now trained in how to manage nervous or phobic patients and strive to balance a professional approach with being compassionate and caring.

At Craigentinny, we offer services for our most phobic patients. If, however, your phobia is incredibly severe, we can offer you a service known as sedation dentistry in Edinburgh.

What is sedation dentistry?

Sedation dentistry is exactly as it sounds, one of our dental team will inject you with an intravenous (IV) sedative before your dental procedure, to minimise your anxiety and allow you to forget any uncomfortable aspects of the dental treatment. You will remain partially conscious but will be unaware of the sounds, feelings and procedures happening around you. When the sedative wears off, usually within 24 hours, you will have minimal recollection of the procedure and therefore, you will not feel any fear upon recalling it.

At Craigentinny, we use sedation dentistry in Edinburgh when our patients fear of the dentist is preventing them from seeking help for painful dental conditions, that could pose a risk to their health. However, we also use sedation dentistry in Edinburgh if requested by a patient or their relatives for any procedure, just to ensure minimal distress to the patient. We recommend that before you undertake any form of sedation, that you inform our dental team about any underlying conditions you have, any medications you are taking and to ensure you have a family member or a friend to take you home after the procedure is completed.

Benefits of sedation dentistry

At Craigentinny Dental Care, we want you to feel safe and secure when you undergo any dental procedure. If you are fearful of the dentist, you are probably actively avoiding attending any type of procedure.

Unfortunately, even the most diligent brushers cannot prevent dental issues from occurring and if you have underlying dental problems, you may unwittingly be making them worse. IV sedation offers you the opportunity to undergo any dental procedure with minimal fear and allows us to assess the condition of your teeth and to perform the required work.

Many of our former phobic patients have reported feeling an increased sense of trust with our dental team for being able to offer the sedation upon request. We will not judge the condition of your teeth or your gums, so you do not have to worry about receiving the dreaded ‘lecture’ from any of our dentists!