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We Can Help You Manage Your Dental Anxiety

Root Canals thumbnail Modesto, CA | Sierra Dental Care

If you don’t like visiting the dentist, then you have a lot of company.
Some experts have estimated that as many as 140 million American experience dental anxiety to one degree or another. As many as 1 in 5 Americans avoid dental care because of this anxiety.
If this reminds you of yourself or someone your love, our team at Sierra Dental Care wants you to know that it’s OK to feel this way. We also want you do know that you can learn to manage your anxiety so you can get the treatment that you need to keep your mouth as healthy as possible.
If you live in or near Modesto, CA, and it’s been a few years since your last dental visit, we welcome you to contact us to learn more about our approach to dental care. Before you make an appointment, we invite to get to know us. Call (209) 575-2400 or contact us online if you would like to learn more about us and how we help anxious patients at Sierra Dental Care.

Causes Of Dental Anxiety

You may develop dental anxiety for a wide range of reasons.
You may have had a bad experience when you were younger. You may have seen a portrayal of a dentist in a movie or on television that left you with a bad impression of what dental visits are like. You may have heard someone else discussing a bad experience they had.
It’s understandable that any of these things could affect how you feel about dental care, too.
The specific reasons patients feel anxious about dental care can vary from person to person.
Some people are worried that the dentist is going to be critical of the condition of their teeth.
Some people are worried that their visit will be painful. This may be a general concern about dental services, or this concern may be related to a specific treatment such as a root canal.
Some people have more sensitive gag reflexes than others, so they that can be another cause of worry.
And still other people have anxiety about a specific piece of dental equipment, such a drill, or they fear that a dentist may use a needle to deliver an anesthetic.
Your dental anxiety could be related to any of those things, or it could arise from something that we haven’t mentioned. Whatever the reason for your anxiety, everyone at Sierra Dental Care is committed to helping you feel comfortable and relaxed while you are visiting us.
Let’s discuss some of the ways we could help you or someone you love learn to manage your anxious feelings.

Solutions For Managing Dental Anxiety

One thing that is important to keep in mind is that overcoming dental anxiety is a process. Your anxious feelings probably won’t go away with a single visit to our office. However, our hope is that each visit will become a little easier for you and that, in time, you will feel comfortable coming to see us.
Our team of compassionate dental professionals plays a vital role in helping anxious patients. From the moment you walk into our office, until you sit in one of our dentist chairs, and even after you leave, our staff will be focused on helping you feel as comfortable as we can.
You might even want to take advantage of our massage chair while you are here.
We are also here to listen to you. If you are feeling anxious for any reason, please let us know. You can tell us this before you make an appointment, and you can stop us during a treatment to let us know if you are feeling worried.
We are here to help you. We want to know if something is bothering you. Sometimes discussing the procedure can help patients feel at ease. Sometimes taking a break will help you relax again, and sometimes we can approach your treatment in another way that helps you feel more comfortable.
We also offer sedation dentistry. Many patients find that nitrous oxide helps them stay calm throughout their visits. It also helps that dental sedation prevents you from feeling any pain and can prevent you from gagging.
We are working on training to add more sedation options in the near future, so we can offer more options for patients interested in this service, too.

What Can We Do To Make Dental Care Easier For You?

At Sierra Dental Care, our practice was built on focusing on the needs of all of our patients, including patients who may feel anxious about dental care. We want to get to know you and how we can help you keep your mouth healthy.
To learn more, please call (209) 575-2400 or contact us online.

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