Congratulations to the winner of our March Break Children’s gift basket, Christopher.

There will be a draw for a March Break basket. Any child who attends between now and March 13th will be entered to win.

Basket includes- Cineplex gift card, complimentary sports mouthguard fabrication, Tim Hortons gift card, electric toothbrush and lots of other things to keep your healthy smile.

The assessment of dental anxiety is the most important aspect of treating dental anxiety. Often patients will report a generalized “I just don’t like the dentist”. These reactions must be explored carefully and the exact nature/cause/source of the anxiety has to be identified in order to then correctly establish the treatment modalities for addressing the anxiety.

Specific questions that explore the main categories of dental anxiety will provide a wealth of information to both the dentist and the often the patient that will facilitate treatment. The main categories of dental anxiety include: specific anxieties, generalized reactions, mistrust and catastrophe.

Specific anxieties related to dentistry include questioning about the individual components that cause anxiety. Needles are often a specific concern for anxious patients. Problems with needles can include the inability to accept a dental injection (needle phobia); fainting when a needle is used (Blood Injury Injection phobia); fear of the needle including fear of pain associated with the injection; fear that the needle will slip or move or break; fear that the needle will not provide sufficient anaesthesia and there will be pain. Other specific fears include fear of the drill. This includes fear of the noise, vibration or pain associated with the drill if there is insufficient local anaesthetic. Insufficient local anaesthetic resulting in pain during dental treatment is a common fear. Often the patient has experienced pain during dental treatment. They have either not informed the dentist or have informed the dentist and been told that they have had sufficient local anaesthetic and treatment has continued despite their pain. It is common that with additional local anaesthetic or additional time following the administration of local anaesthetic that profound anaesthesia can be obtained eliminating pain during treatment.

Generalized anxiety assessment begins by asking about sleep disturbances the night before a dental appointment. This gives a better indication of the level of anxiety associated with dental treatment. An assessment of the body’s reactions to dental anxiety that a person experiences while in the dental chair provides additional information about the extent of dental anxiety. Body reactions can include pounding heart, sweaty palms, shaking, butterflies in the stomach and nausea. Treatment can be tailored to address these specific reactions.

Mistrust is a different faucet of dental anxiety that also needs to be explored. Sometimes a patient has been inappropriately spoken to by a dentist, hygienist or other member of staff. Remarks about a patient’s dental condition or at home dental care or simply a condescending attitude can make a patient feel embarrassed or ashamed. Additionally, if there have been problems during dental treatment such as pain, unexpected changes to the dental treatment required, or errors or omissions on the dentists behalf can make a patient very wary of future dental treatment.

Catastrophising is a type of thought process that can undermine a patient’s ability to accept dental treatment. Thoughts or beliefs that involve catastrophic events can paralyze a dental patient. For example some patients hold the belief that they may have a heart attack during dental treatment or may suffer a serious allergic reaction, be unable to breath or may die as a result of dental treatment.

The discussion of these different categories of dental treatment usually identifies the specifics of the patient’s dental anxiety. Anxiety may involve only one category of dental anxiety or may involve elements of a number or all of the categories of dental anxiety. Once the specifics of dental anxiety have been identified specific tools and pathways are used to address the anxiety.

Sportsguard clinic at Milton Sport center Saturday October 8th

9AM till Noon

$40.00 payable on the day. Look for our poster!!

POSITION FILLED
Unfortunately, Shannon has decide to return to full time education for dental hygiene. I am looking for a full time dental assistant (Level II preferred) who will be a good match with the existing team.

Experience required, flexible, organized and personable.

Please FAX resume to 905-876-2627

The causes of dental anxiety can be simply categorized as those resulting from a direct experience or an indirect experience.

DIRECT EXPERIENCES
Research has shown that dental fear generally starts in childhood (85%) and the dentist’s professional behaviour/interpersonal behaviour was the most important cause. When fear was acquired in adult years pain was the most important cause.

INDIRECT EXPERIENCES

• The most common way dental fear is acquired indirectly is from parent to child. This route of acquisition can be from hearing parents talk of their fear or dislike of dentistry or by seeing a parent react adversely to dentistry.
• The mass media can communicate dental fear through cartoons, movies and television.
• Finally, distressing medical procedures can sometimes result in fear generalizing to the dental environment.

The fear experienced in the medical setting automatically gets triggered in the dental setting.

Additional sources that contribute to dental fear include the patient experiencing a sense of helplessness over a situation that may cause them pain or injury. Fearful patients can also be overwhelmed by negative/catastrophising thoughts. These patients anticipate pain “This is going to be very sore” or problems “The drill is going to slip and cut me”.

Some people also have a fearful disposition. These people experience anxiety and fear in numerous situations.

Identifying the cause of dental anxiety can often aid the treatment of dental anxiety by targeting specific behaviors, or cognitions (thoughts).

Congratulations James, the winner of our Father’s Day basket.

Definitions
Dental anxiety is a highly prevalent condition affecting approximately 30% of the population. Dental anxiety can be distinguished from dental fear and phobia by the way our mind and body react.

Dental fear is an individual’s emotional response to a perceived threat or danger. It includes negative thoughts and physiological changes such as increased heart rate, sweaty palms, shaking, shortness of breath or a tight sensation in the throat.

Dental anxiety is better defined as the response to situations in which the source of the threat to the individual is ill-defined, ambiguous or not immediately present. Anticipatory anxiety prior to dental procedures is commonly experienced.

Dental phobia is a more extreme example of dental anxiety. Phobia is defined as a marked and persistent fear of a clearly defined object or situation. Exposure to the phobic stimulus provokes an immediate anxiety response. Typically the individual will actively avoid the object or situation resulting insignificant distress and interference with a person’s ability to function.

Congratulations Christy, winner of our Mother’s Day basket!

We’re having a draw for a Father’s Day basket. All patients attending between May 12th and June 17th can enter their Father for the draw. Our basket includes an electric toothbrush (professional model); free tooth whitening voucher (value $250.00) and many other bright smile goodies.