• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

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Coping methods

N

Nat

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 16, 2005
Messages
764
I was just wondering how people cope with upcoming dental procedures? I have a bit of work coming up in a months time and was hoping someone could perhaps recommend some ways of relaxing or dealing with whats to come! Is there any books out there that anyone knows of that can help me perhaps??
 
I try not to think about the appointment. Although Ia great deal of trust in my dentist i am still nervous about hte drill. I find the noise of the drilling really unnerving. I have taken to taking a cd walkman with me to listen to with a relaxation cd. I find this helps me to relax and drowns out the sound of the drill.
 
I try to keep really busy and play it down in mind and I also try to rationalize it by breaking down each step into smaller concrete details of the situation (i.e. just sitting back in a chair, just hearing noise, just a light in my face, etc...). That seems to make it seem like not such a huge deal. Also I try to visualize the procedure going smoothly and that seems to help. Stay optimistic!  :)  I always find myself counting the days which is something I recommend trying to refrain from as it can also induce feelings of anxiety as well. Stay away from caffiene as well as it can make you jumpy and a bit on edge about everything anyway no matter what the situation... it hightens the senses somehow making you like hypersensitive, I had a big cup of soda once before an appt and just about every sound made me practically leap out of the chair lol. Good luck!   :grouphug:
 

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