Three Ways to Release Dental Anxiety That Worked for Me
If you’re reading this, you probably experience fear in the dentist’s office, or know someone who does. Maybe your dental anxiety is so severe that you can’t even make or keep an appointment for dental work.
Fear no more!
I know how you feel. I had extreme dental anxiety since childhood. Our family dentist convinced my mother that kids’ mouths didn’t need to be numbed before drilling. He didn’t have high-speed dental drills with cooling water. I remember my tears flowing as the horrible pain exploded in my nerves. I thought I would lose my mind.
As an adult, I completely neglected my dental health. Merely thinking about making a dental appointment caused a panic attack. By my mid-twenties, brown plaque lurked along my gum line, and I had tooth decay. My mouth was a disaster.
COMMON DENTAL WORK FEARS & PHOBIAS
Many of us who had “old school” dental work BEFORE gentle, painless dentistry still have dental anxiety or fear. Common fears about dental work include:
- Going for a simple cleaning and exam, then hearing we need further work
- Another physically or emotionally painful experience at the dentist’s office
- Needles inserted into our gums, or even seeing the needle before injection
- Feeling pain, helpless, trapped, afraid of suffocating, can’t swallow
- Humiliation or shame because of our fearful reactions, or comments by the dentist or oral hygienist, no matter how well-meaning they meant to be
THREE WAYS I RELIEVED MY DENTAL ANXIETY
What can you do to release these anxieties? You’ve probably tried many things, like I did. Below are three methods that worked for me. The first two are temporary fixes.
The third one is PERMANENT, and can be used for yourself and family members--even pets and children.
(1) DENTAL DISTRACTION: I took a CD player, ear buds, and comedy CDs with me to dental appointments. Hearing comedians tell funny stories kept my attention off the dental work and drill sounds, and in a jovial mood the entire visit.
(2) SEDATIVES: one kind dentist prescribed a half a Valium, 30 minutes before each visit. I didn’t care about anything for three hours, thanks to the drug. Sadly, the dentist moved out of state and I couldn’t find another one who’d prescribe anti-anxiety drugs.
Both of the above methods helped me temporarily get through the appointments. Yet I still had PRE-DENTAL VISIT ANXIETY every day and night, two weeks before the appointments.
My fear triggers were activated whenever I thought about visiting the dentist again. You probably have it, too, right?
(3) TAPPING: after thirty years of dental anxiety, I learned about “tapping”. Stimulating a few acupressure points with my fingertips while repeating phrases like, “I now release my fear of not being safe whenever I hear the whine of a dental drill” permanently released all my fears of visiting the dentist! Tapping is also called EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques and MTT: Meridian Tapping Techniques.
I’ve helped people around the world clear their dental anxiety, and wrote this book to help others. Please don’t suffer like I did. Find a method that works for you and use it. You deserve stress-free dental visits!
Tapping Away Dental Anxiety: Tap Into Fearless Dental Visits for You & Your Family by Colleen M. Flanagan
Fear no more!
I know how you feel. I had extreme dental anxiety since childhood. Our family dentist convinced my mother that kids’ mouths didn’t need to be numbed before drilling. He didn’t have high-speed dental drills with cooling water. I remember my tears flowing as the horrible pain exploded in my nerves. I thought I would lose my mind.
As an adult, I completely neglected my dental health. Merely thinking about making a dental appointment caused a panic attack. By my mid-twenties, brown plaque lurked along my gum line, and I had tooth decay. My mouth was a disaster.
COMMON DENTAL WORK FEARS & PHOBIAS
Many of us who had “old school” dental work BEFORE gentle, painless dentistry still have dental anxiety or fear. Common fears about dental work include:
- Going for a simple cleaning and exam, then hearing we need further work
- Another physically or emotionally painful experience at the dentist’s office
- Needles inserted into our gums, or even seeing the needle before injection
- Feeling pain, helpless, trapped, afraid of suffocating, can’t swallow
- Humiliation or shame because of our fearful reactions, or comments by the dentist or oral hygienist, no matter how well-meaning they meant to be
THREE WAYS I RELIEVED MY DENTAL ANXIETY
What can you do to release these anxieties? You’ve probably tried many things, like I did. Below are three methods that worked for me. The first two are temporary fixes.
The third one is PERMANENT, and can be used for yourself and family members--even pets and children.
(1) DENTAL DISTRACTION: I took a CD player, ear buds, and comedy CDs with me to dental appointments. Hearing comedians tell funny stories kept my attention off the dental work and drill sounds, and in a jovial mood the entire visit.
(2) SEDATIVES: one kind dentist prescribed a half a Valium, 30 minutes before each visit. I didn’t care about anything for three hours, thanks to the drug. Sadly, the dentist moved out of state and I couldn’t find another one who’d prescribe anti-anxiety drugs.
Both of the above methods helped me temporarily get through the appointments. Yet I still had PRE-DENTAL VISIT ANXIETY every day and night, two weeks before the appointments.
My fear triggers were activated whenever I thought about visiting the dentist again. You probably have it, too, right?
(3) TAPPING: after thirty years of dental anxiety, I learned about “tapping”. Stimulating a few acupressure points with my fingertips while repeating phrases like, “I now release my fear of not being safe whenever I hear the whine of a dental drill” permanently released all my fears of visiting the dentist! Tapping is also called EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques and MTT: Meridian Tapping Techniques.
I’ve helped people around the world clear their dental anxiety, and wrote this book to help others. Please don’t suffer like I did. Find a method that works for you and use it. You deserve stress-free dental visits!
Tapping Away Dental Anxiety: Tap Into Fearless Dental Visits for You & Your Family by Colleen M. Flanagan
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