Dental Fears and Dental Implants

A Derby dentist discusses why the dental implants procedure is less worrisome than you may think.

Dental phobia is thought to occur, to some degree in around a third of the population of the UK. Most cases of this are relatively mild and, despite increased heart rates and probably a degree of cold sweats, most will still visit their dentist on appointed days.

Others though, it has to be said, suffer from more severe cases and may miss appointments due to this. This is likely to happen much more when an invasive dental treatment is scheduled.

Dental Implants

One of the dental procedures that is perceived as being the most invasive is placing a dental implant, whether this be an individual implant or more extensive such as full-arch replacement using “all on 4”. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that, in order for the implant to be successful, they have to be placed in the actual jawbone; a procedure which patients presume to be very painful.

The reality though is completely different and no patient should feel any more uncomfortable than they would with any other invasive procedure. Modern local anaesthetics too are now fast acting and efficient and no pain should be felt at all.

Other dental fears

As well as the fear of the pain that it is imagined will be experienced, there are a few other factors which turn up regularly when discussing dentistry with those who are afraid of it.

The sound of the dental drill is one of the factors which many mention. Just the very sound seems to strike fear in some people. In fact, the sound the drill makes is simply because it operates at very high speeds making it fast and efficient. If the high ‘whine’ noise was to be avoided, the drill would have to be much slower and would certainly cause more discomfort.

If you do have a real and genuine phobia about the sound of the drill, please do discuss it with us rather than simply avoiding treatment. There are ways that we can overcome this; one possibility is allowing the patient the use of an MP3 player for example. These can be used provided that we can still communicate with the patient during the procedure.

Fear of choking is also another surprisingly common phobia. Whilst we appreciate that having someone working inside your mouth is not an especially pleasant experience, there is no danger in a patient choking as a strong suction device is used to collect any excess saliva or other debris which may occur during the procedure.

Testimonials

At the Darren Bywater Dental Implant Centre, we have performed implant procedures on a great many patients who have been delighted with the end result. A number of these patients have put their experience on our testimonials page ( https://www.derbydentalimplants.co.uk/patient-testimonials.html  ). A quick read through these may help to allay any fears that you may have about dental implants, but, if these do not, please do feel free to contact us on  01332 550933 to arrange a consultation where we can address your concerns about this increasingly popular and highly successful tooth replacement procedure.

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