Does anyone really want to see the Dentist?

Does anyone really want to see the Dentist? Probably not! Honestly, I can think of many places I would rather be! Patients all have their own unique reason for fearing/loathing the dentist. I must hear at least several times a week about a past dental experience(often from childhood)that so severely traumatized the person that they still-sometimes 20, 30 or 40 years later- get sweaty palms and some are so apprehensive that they are shaking.
There are several ways we try to combat these fears....obviously the number one way to overcome these fears is to discover exactly what the stresser is for the individual....so, we ask a LOT of questions....some fear the needle, some the sound of the handpiece and some just don't like the invasion of their personal space.
Once we identify the problem, hopefully we can lessen the the "trigger".
For overcoming the fear of the needle slow and steady is key. We have to allow the topical anesthetic time to infiltrate the mucousa and then SLOWLY administer the anesthetic. Slowly injecting reduces the pressure within the tissue which causes the pain experienced with the "shot".
The sound of the handpiece is easily overcome with a set of Koss headphones and either a cd or radio station of the patients choosing.
Unfortunately, the invasion of personal space is inevidable....hopefully a strong mouthwash on our part lessens the experience!
An adjunct to lessening the unpleasantness of the dental visit which we employ is relaxing during the procedure with either oral sedation or good old tried and true Nitrous Oxide. I would say 50% of our practice prefers Nitrous for their dental appoinments. Surprisingly, many of our patients ask for and get Nitrous for their 6 month cleaning appointments also. We have found that having a relaxed patient makes it easier not only for the patient but for us, the dental provider.
We like it so much we have chose not to charge for this service!

Fluoride? Is there ever enough?

A very common finding during exams is recurrent decay. Either at a crown margin (the junction of the crown and the tooth) or along the interface of the tooth and a filling. Options at this point are removing the decay and "patching" the margin with restorative material or removing the crown and redoing it. We feel that a third option is prevention of the decay in the first place. We have been recommending a prescription strength toothpaste (5000ppm of fluoride vs 1000ppm of fluoride). The prescription can be filled at any pharmacy at a reasonable cost. We recommend using your regular toothpaste in the morning and the prescription toothpast right before bed. Brush as normal and do NOT rinse with water...Let it sit on your teeth overnight....Another idea is for those that use an occlusal guard/night guard....place the fluoride toothpaste in the appliance and let the teeth marinade in fluoride overnight....