New & Nervous Patients

Sedation / Phobic Nervous Patients

Intravenous sedation (injection) is an effective way of treating most nervous patients. The drugs given can relax and calm the patient, so treatment can be carried out with dentist and patient still able to talk to each other. There are certain things that affect a patient's suitability for this type of sedation. These include weight, age and medical condition. This would all be discussed during the consultation and the necessary information given. Usually the patient would need to be referred to a specialist clinic for this treatment.

A technique in which the use of a drug or drugs, produces a state of depression of the central nervous system enabling treatment to be carried out, but during which verbal contact with the patient is maintained throughout the period of sedation. The drugs and techniques used to provide conscious sedation for dental treatment should carry a margin of safety wide enough to render loss of consciousness unlikely. The level of sedation must be such that the patient remains conscious, retains protective reflexes and is able to understand and respond to verbal commands. (GDC)

Dental Phobia

Dental phobia

Dr Dipesh KH Patel is a Dental Phobia Certified dentist Click Here to verify.

A survey conducted by the British Dental Association showed that 25% of people suffer from anxiety before visiting the dentist. This means 1 in every 4 patients must either ignore their fear or risk their oral health by not attending the dentist, this could potentially be costly and result in long term health problems and expensive surgery.

We work hard to minimise the anxiety and stress levels of our patients as patient care is our top priority. There are methods we use to actively reduce dental phobia and create a positive experience. We have even joined with www.dentalphobia.co.uk to become certified in reducing patient fear and phobias.

Ways we work to reduce fear and anxiety:
  • Calm and supportive dentists, we go through each stage step by step, answering any questions you may have. We want to know how our patients feel so create an environment where our patients can express their worries and concerns.
  • We can play relaxing music to our patients, to take you to another world. You can even bring a movie to watch on our portable DVD player and video headset.
  • Remember that you are in control. During treatment you can stop for a break and communicate with the dentist, you can spread your visits out as you like. We want to build healthy relationships with our patients so that they can express how they are feeling at any point.
  • The Wand system, a revolutionary new way of delivering anaesthesia. It's syringe free and gives a supply of anaesthetic in a more comfortable manner than traditional methods. It increases patient comfort and is less frightening than conventional syringes so reduces our patient's anxiety level. Most people think it is the needle itself that causes the discomfort. In fact it is the flow of the anaesthetic into the soft tissues, as the flow is more controlled and localised to a single tooth the level of discomfort is minimal. This is great for those of us who are needle phobic.
  • Conscious sedation, as mentioned above we have intravenous sedation but we also have gas and air nitrous oxide conscious sedation to keep our patients calm and relaxed during lengthy appointments. You may have heard this as being referred to as laughing gas. You are conscious however, experiencing a carefree attitude towards the treatment.
  • Hypnotherapy is available; we can refer patients prior to treatment to combat their dental anxiety. Hypnotherapy is more effective for some than others and it doesn't involve any form of medication. It puts patients in a relaxed state, whilst you are in this hypnotic state you cannot be made to do anything you do not wish to do therefore you can feel safe in our trusting environment.
  • Ashford Dental Dental Phobia

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