Do you find yourself feeling nervous when the time comes for your next scheduled dental visit? Well if it makes you feel any better, you are not alone. Dental phobia and dental anxiety are a common occurrence even for our patients. Fortunately, Dr. Michael Lemme and our dental team have a lot of experience with helping our patients deal with dental anxiety to help ensure you maintain your healthy smile.

You can easily find statistics showing that 30 million to 40 million Americans experience fear or anxiety when visiting their oral health provider. As you can see, you are in a lot of company! So not only are you not alone, but our staff is experienced with helping our patients have the most pleasant experience possible.

While people often use dental anxiety and dental phobia interchangeably, they aren’t exactly the same thing. Let’s take a closer look.

Dental Anxiety: People experiencing dental anxiety generally have an underlying sense of uneasiness when it’s time to come in for treatment. Exaggerated worries will not be unusual. What does this mean for them? Their experience will not be as pleasant as it could be.

Dental Phobia: This type of dread is more pronounced than generalized dental anxiety, and the intense fear results in the patient feeling stricken with panic. Of course, the worst part about dental phobia is that patients dread it so much that they will avoid seeking the very treatment that can prevent gum disease and tooth decay from arising. As a result, they will have poorer oral health and lower self-esteem because of their smile issues.

So, do you find yourself having trouble breathing easy when your dental team is working on you? Are you unable to sleep the night before your procedure? If so, please let our team know! We won’t judge you, and in fact we will respect your space, and help you experience a sense of control over your experience in the chair.

If we know about your anxiety or phobia, we can work with you to ensure a relaxing, pleasant experience. To learn more about how we can help make your experience a positive one, we invite you to give our Lemme Dental Studio team in Oak Harbor, Washington a call at 360-675-3334 . Dr. Michael Lemme looks forward to helping you have a healthy, beautiful smile!