No good dental phobia dentists within 50 miles of me?

[Bunbun]

I've messaged all dentists in my area asking if they are good with Phobic patients and if they have anxiety management and all of them said no sorry.
I mean surely they should be good with people who ate anxious about the dentist? It's so common.
I don't know what to do now?

 

[Ellieclarke1989]

If you are in the UK message NHS England and see if they can help you sorry I wish I could be more helpful but that is all I can think off

 

[Tink]

Hi bunbun -

Wow, that's unexpected! In my experience, if you were to approach dental practices and ask if they are good with nervous patients then most of them will say "yes, of course!" (Whether they actually are is a different matter of course...!) As you say, lots of people are scared of the dentist so dentists are well used to seeing that.

I wonder if there's been some sort of miscommunication? Did you ask for something very specific, like a particiular drug or some particular certification? For example, a few dentists claim to be "Dental Phobia Certified" but in practice that's a fairly meaningless thing and not a reliable indicator. There are loads of dentists around who don't have that certificate but are great at dealing with phobic patients (including both my fantastic dentist and the biggest dental phobia expert in the area).

Anyway, aside from contacting the dentists themselves, the best way by far to find who the best ones are is by word of mouth - you could try the recommendations section on here to see if there is anybody, or ask around friends and people you know to see where they go. Dental phobia is so common that pretty much everybody will know somebody who has it!

What country are you in? (It's ok, you don't have to answer that if you'd rather not say!)


There will be somebody out there.


tink x

 

[Bunbun]

Hi bunbun -

Wow, that's unexpected! In my experience, if you were to approach dental practices and ask if they are good with nervous patients then most of them will say "yes, of course!" (Whether they actually are is a different matter of course...!) As you say, lots of people are scared of the dentist so dentists are well used to seeing that.

I wonder if there's been some sort of miscommunication? Did you ask for something very specific, like a particiular drug or some particular certification? For example, a few dentists claim to be "Dental Phobia Certified" but in practice that's a fairly meaningless thing and not a reliable indicator. There are loads of dentists around who don't have that certificate but are great at dealing with phobic patients (including both my fantastic dentist and the biggest dental phobia expert in the area).

Anyway, aside from contacting the dentists themselves, the best way by far to find who the best ones are is by word of mouth - you could try the recommendations section on here to see if there is anybody, or ask around friends and people you know to see where they go. Dental phobia is so common that pretty much everybody will know somebody who has it!

What country are you in? (It's ok, you don't have to answer that if you'd rather not say!)


There will be somebody out there.


tink x

Thanks for your advice I didn't know there was a recommended section.

I just said do you have sedation and are you OK to treat Phobic NHS patients and both said they don't have dental phobia facilities and sedation.

I'm scared I will have to go to some awful dentist who doesn't care if I'm scared

 

[Tink]

I just said do you have sedation and are you OK to treat Phobic NHS patients and both said they don't have dental phobia facilities and sedation.

OK, that makes mores sense! It will be the sedation - on the NHS that is mostly done by referral to a dental hospital or a specialist clinic that does sedation. Ordinary NHS dental practises don't often do it in house, which is why the ones you asked said no.

How it generally works is first you need to go and see a regular NHS dentist in an ordinary practise, and if you decide that sedation is the right thing for you then they will make a referral.


Regarding dental phobia facilities - much of the time all that is needed is a sympathetic and caring approach, which doesn't require any special equipment or facilities at all. To be honest is sounds like most of what you need is support and help from a dentist with the right attitude!


I notice you said "both", do you live in a very remote area? Usually there are more practises around, although it does depend where you are! Your local health board's website may have a list of NHS dental practises in the area.

I'm scared I will have to go to some awful dentist who doesn't care if I'm scared

You won't have to, I'm confident that you can find a dentist who is supportive x

Honestly, most dentists these days know patients can get anxious and in my experience, most of them do care and will try to do what they can to help.

 

[Bunbun]

OK, that makes mores sense! It will be the sedation - on the NHS that is mostly done by referral to a dental hospital or a specialist clinic that does sedation. Ordinary NHS dental practises don't often do it in house, which is why the ones you asked said no.

How it generally works is first you need to go and see a regular NHS dentist in an ordinary practise, and if you decide that sedation is the right thing for you then they will make a referral.


Regarding dental phobia facilities - much of the time all that is needed is a sympathetic and caring approach, which doesn't require any special equipment or facilities at all. To be honest is sounds like most of what you need is support and help from a dentist with the right attitude!


I notice you said "both", do you live in a very remote area? Usually there are more practises around, although it does depend where you are! Your local health board's website may have a list of NHS dental practises in the area.





You won't have to, I'm confident that you can find a dentist who is supportive x

Honestly, most dentists these days know patients can get anxious and in my experience, most of them do care and will try to do what they can to help.

Thank you. Yes I live in a remote area.

I'm still terrified I can't even phone up and book an appointment first due to embarrassment of my parents finding out and embarrassment of some snotty dentist saying oh it's such a shame the state of your mouth which my previous dentist said

I just can't do it I'm so frustrated with myself

 

[Tink]

I'm still terrified I can't even phone up and book an appointment first due to embarrassment of my parents finding out and embarrassment of some snotty dentist saying oh it's such a shame the state of your mouth which my previous dentist said

I just can't do it I'm so frustrated with myself

OK, you can do this x You're doing really well, coming on here and posting about it is the first step!

Shame can be a very powerful thing, but really, you don't need to be embarrassed or ashamed (I know, easier said than done!) - lots of people struggle with dentists and lots of people have trouble with their teeth, probably far more than you realise.

So sorry you had that experience with your previous dentist, it sucks, and I really wish they could see how much harm they do saying this sort of thing

Honestly, most dentists are not like that, I promise. Most of them will not shame you, and - this is important - you don't deserve to be shamed like that.


You got this. And you really *can* do it

 

[Bunbun]

OK, you can do this x You're doing really well, coming on here and posting about it is the first step!

Shame can be a very powerful thing, but really, you don't need to be embarrassed or ashamed (I know, easier said than done!) - lots of people struggle with dentists and lots of people have trouble with their teeth, probably far more than you realise.

So sorry you had that experience with your previous dentist, it sucks, and I really wish they could see how much harm they do saying this sort of thing

Honestly, most dentists are not like that, I promise. Most of them will not shame you, and - this is important - you don't deserve to be shamed like that.


You got this. And you really *can* do it

You have been helping me so much thank you.

But how do I just say to my mum I need to go to the dentist and I'm absolutely terrified about it ? I just can't see myself being brave enough.

 

[comfortdentist]

As everyone knows I practice in a very large city surrounded by other large cities yet somehow various patients think it is worth their time to get to my office. Just driving across town can take 60-90 minutes one way.In the last few weeks I have seen patients from Haiti, Jamaica, Honduras, Panama, France and Germany. I am honored by their efforts. Sometimes you have to work to get what you want.

 

[Tink]

As everyone knows I practice in a very large city surrounded by other large cities yet somehow various patients think it is worth their time to get to my office. Just driving across town can take 60-90 minutes one way.In the last few weeks I have seen patients from Haiti, Jamaica, Honduras, Panama, France and Germany. I am honored by their efforts. Sometimes you have to work to get what you want.

Yes and no.

My dentist is so fantastic that if he moved to somewhere a couple of hours on the train away, I'd travel to see him, no question. I've travelled to see a fantastic doctor before. So I totally get what you're saying, and I'm lucky in that I'm able to do that.

...but any further than that and it wouldn't be possible, my health simply wouldn't allow for it. For many people, it's just not that simple. People have disabilities, caring commitments, work commitments that limit their options. Many of these constraints are things that no amount of effort or work can change. And that's before you start to consider things like budget, geography, and the availability of transport, which are huge issues for a lot of people. Dental phobia doesn't discriminate, it cuts right across barriers of social class and privilege - I've found it to be one of those very levelling things!

The set of patients you have travelling to see you is (by definition) skewed towards those who are in a position where it is possible for them.

People have to work within the constraints they have, which for many people means finding a dentist in their local area.