Dentist that cater to cowards near me

I am not the best dental patient. I will admit that upfront. I have avoided the dentist for a while now. However, I developed a massive toothache and reluctantly schlepped myself to the dental office. After nine shots. NINE. He still couldn’t get me numb. I am living off of strong pain killers right now because he was not able to complete my treatment. He apologized and didn’t charge me for the appointment, but I am still in agony. What can I do to get this treated?

Sarai

Dear Sarai,

I am familiar with this type of situation and have a solution for you. One of the things you mentioned is that you are not the best dental patient and avoid going. This is almost always a result of some traumatic experience with the dentist that led to you developing dental anxiety. The higher your anxiety, the harder it is to get you numb. Many dentists aren’t even aware of this connection.

When this happens, there is an ever worsening cycle that makes your experiences at the dentist disastrous. You have anxiety. You can’t get numb. Your dental appointment is painful. This in turn increases your anxiety. The way to break out of this cycle is to use a sedation dentist. These are general dentists who are compassionate with anxious patients and want to help them get through their appointments in an anxiety-free/pain-free way.

Sedation dentists will have varying levels of sedation. Which one you use will depend on your level of anxiety. In your case, I am going to recommend you use oral conscious sedation. This is administered by a pill. This pill is strong. You will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment as well as stay with you for several hours until you are lucid and steady on your feet. The great news about this is many patients find they are so relaxed they completely sleep through their appointment.

I know you are dreading the idea of going back to the dentist. Using a sedation dentist will change your life. I’m saying this because I do not want you to put this off. You have a dental infection. It will continue to spread until the dentist you choose gets in there and physically removes the infected pulp. If you think about how close your jaw is to your heart, brain, and lungs, you can see why dental infections are considered dental emergencies. People still die from leaving these untreated.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Susan Dennis of Kalamazoo.

My doctor prescribes me Xanax for situational anxiety. I’ve used it at least once a week and it’s been extremely helpful. I’m thinking it may be just the thing to help me get back to the dentist. I’ve avoided the dentist for years and now have started developing some pain in one (maybe more) of my teeth. Can I take Xanax before a dental appointment?

Lori

Dear Lori,

It’s brave of you to try to find a way back to your dentist given your anxiety. So you know, you’re not alone in your nervous feelings when it comes to dental work. Many patients feel the same way. Often it stems from a traumatic experience with a dentist in their younger years.

While it would be possible for you to take Xanax before your appointment, I have a better solution for you. The main reason I’m suggesting an alternative is there’s a possibility the Xanax could interfere with something the dentist needs to give you.

Because you’re already in pain from a tooth, I want to make sure you won’t have to put off your treatment because of a medication issue.

Solutions for Dental Anxiety

There are dentists who cater to fearful patients. Dr. Dennis is one of those dentists. She loves helping people have positive experiences at the dentist in order to change the way they view the dentist. She does that through gentle care, explaining every aspect of the procedure, and (for her more anxious patients) dental sedation.

In some cases, anxiety can be so high that it causes patients to burn off any numbing medication, essentially rendering it completely ineffective.

When that’s an issue, sedation is a miracle worker. You’re completely relaxed from a simple pill. The upside is the dentist, knowing what sedation medication he or she uses ahead of time will not have to worry about anything being contraindicative.

You will find it makes having a dental appointment much easier. In fact, most patients simply sleep through their procedure.

Don’t Put off Getting Dental Pain Treated

One thing you don’t want to do is wait any longer to deal with this. When you have tooth pain, it often indicates a tooth infection. When this isn’t dealt with, it can quickly turn into a dental emergency. Then, instead of a simple procedure, you’ll be facing something much more invasive and expensive. In some cases, it’s even too late to save the tooth. Then you’re looking at tooth replacement options.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Susan Dennis. Some of her patients consider her the best dentist in the Kalamazoo area.

How do I help my husband overcome his dental anxiety?  He’s always been afraid of the dentist. Mostly that’s because it was an unknown to him. His parents never took him to the dentist when he was a child. I finally convinced him to go, just once to see what it was like. He did go, but it turned out he needed a lot of work. Plus, his gums were very tender so it was a painful experience for him. The dentist quoted him thousands of dollars of work. I’m afraid he’s going to use finances as an excuse not to go, but in reality, he just didn’t like how it felt. How can I help him?

Amanda L.

Dear Amanda,

Let me assure you your husband is not alone in his anxiety, both in being in the dental chair as well as financial considerations. That knowledge alone may help him not feel so isolated or “cowardly” about the dentist. Let me give you some ideas which may help your husband.

Solutions to Financial Anxiety & Dental Care

Those who’ve not gone to the dentist in many years often find they need more work than they can afford. Because of that, they feel hopeless. If they can’t afford to fix everything right away, what’s the point?

First, he needs to be convinced that going to the dentist is important. You didn’t mention what specific work he needed. For the moment, let’s assume it’s all just cavities, which is one of the least invasive procedures. If he does nothing except brush and floss diligently (which are important), the cavities will continue to grow. Eventually, they’ll reach the pulp of the tooth. This always comes with the accompanying gifts of throbbing pain and infection.

Now, instead of needing a much simpler and relatively pain-free procedure, such as a white filling, they now need the more expensive and invasive procedure of a root canal and dental crown. But, let’s assume from there, his anxiety about the dentist strengthens his resolve to ignore the pain, which by then would be quite significant. Infections spread. With dental care, taking an antibiotic isn’t a solution. It’s just a temporary stop-gap. The infection will return and continue until it is physically removed by the dentist. Our jaws are in close proximity to our heart and brain. If the infection spreads (and it will), it can become deadly quickly. Believe it or not, people are still dying from untreated cavities.

But what if he needs more urgent work than he has income to cover? You don’t want to leave those and have them turn into a dental emergency. Talk to the dentist about setting up a payment plan that enables him to get the work first and pay it out slowly. Some dentists say in their financial policies that payment is expected up front. That doesn’t mean in some circumstances they wouldn’t work with you. Always ask. Worst case scenario, they say no payment plans. No harm done. If that does happen, there’s still another option.

Care credit is a medical credit card. It works in a more customer friendly way than traditional credit card companies. First, you can set your terms. There are low and even no-interest payment plan options. Plus, if you get a windfall, there is no penalty for paying the card off early. It’s designed to help families get medical care they couldn’t otherwise afford.

Solutions to Dental Anxiety

Let’s say all the financial issues are covered but he’s still resistant to going back to the dentist, how can you get him through the door? There are dentist’s who specifically cater to fearful patients. Do an internet search. They’ll commonly use the following terms—

• Sedation Dentist
• Cater to Cowards Dentist
• Gentle Dentist

The most helpful is usually when a dentist offers dental sedation, especially oral conscious sedation. This service relaxes the patient during the procedure. They’re still conscious and can respond to questions the dentist asks them, as well as move if they need to. However, they’re so relaxed most patients sleep throughout the procedure.

The benefits are they’re completely relaxed, the appointment can be pain-free, and they can get more work done per appointment. That last point is extraordinarily useful to patients who need a lot of work done. The downside is he’ll be so relaxed that he won’t be too steady on his feet. He’ll need someone to drive him to and from the appointment as well as stay with him throughout the day until they’re sure the sedation has worn off.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo cosmetic dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Our Portage family dentists and entire dental staff want you to know that there is nothing to be afraid of. We take into consideration every patient’s fear level and aim to make every visit a comfortable one.

Keep reading to learn how we cater to patients with dental anxiety inside our dental office.

What is Dental Anxiety?

There are a variety of reasons behind why individuals develop dental anxiety. Some recall a bad appointment they had in their childhood. Others simply fear pain or judgement. Whatever the cause is, it can feel like it’s here to stay. The first step is identifying it.

You may have dental anxiety if you:

• Have trouble sleeping the night before your appointment
• Feel increasingly nervous or on edge when sitting in the waiting room
• Cry or feel sick when you think about visiting the dentist
• Experience uneasiness when tools or objects are placed in your mouth during an oral examination
• Put off treatment even though you need a procedure done

While dental anxiety is not as intense as a dental phobia, it can still interfere with seeking much needed treatment.

Our Philosophy and the Dental Prescription

The deep rooted fear attached to the dentist can be hard to let go of for many patients. We fully understand and thus, act accordingly. Dr. Dennis herself created this practice to be a place where no one should feel pain and we stand by that philosophy every day.

One way we help manage anxiety is to establish a “Dental Prescription” when a new patient joins us. Coined and put in place by Dr. Dennis, a dental prescription details each patient’s needs and wants. It’s specific and tailored to each individual person for the best care possible.

To further enhance the patient experience, Dr. Dennis has perfected her recipe for ensuring those receiving certain treatments are comfortably numb. Numbing can be paired either with laughing gas administered through a nose mask or anti-anxiety medication taken before your appointment.

No matter what, we will work with you to discover what works best.

How We Can Help During Your Visit

In addition to oral sedation, we offer each patient a special comfort menu. From this menu, you can choose whether you’d like to bring your own headphones and listen to soothing music, a soft blanket, refreshments, or more.

We want you to feel taken care of and relaxed while you’re with us. By offering these calming amenities to all our patients, we believe that we are helping them to overcome their dental anxiety. With enough time, patients will associate feeling at ease with being at our dental office.

We’ll Provide the Comfort You Deserve

At our office, we are committed to a positive patient experience. We want nothing more than for you to be comfortable during any dental procedure. If you require sedation to help with your dental anxiety, our family dentists in Portage, MI, are well versed in providing that for you.

Call the dental office of Kalamazoo Dentist Susan M. Dennis, DDS today at (269) 743-4375 or complete our online contact form to make an appointment.