Doctors’ visits don’t often rank at the top of people’s lists. After all, the idea of having someone poke and prod around your life doesn’t necessarily sound fun. For many, the dentist’s office is the least liked considering your time there involves sitting with your mouth open and metal tools scraping your teeth.

For this reason, patients may have an intense fear of teeth cleanings. A dental office may combat this terror by making some accommodations to the office. The following are four ways to help patients be at ease. 

Create a Calm Waiting Area

Nerves often flare when people sit in a room, thinking about what is going to happen. The waiting area, then, could be a source of anxiety for many. Office staff should try to make this room as comforting as possible.

Select comfortable chairs. Plastic seats are hard and unfriendly. Instead, you want others to see your waiting room as homey. Staff should greet people pleasantly and offer magazines or cheerful entertainment. Quiet, soothing music may also play in the background.

Purchase Efficient, Effective Equipment

The chair is scary! What happens while lying prostrate is unnerving. The hygienists scrape away as a humming noise is in the background. Try to eliminate the machinery irritation as much as possible by purchasing products like the Midwest Dental Quiet Air. Tools like these are quieter and high functioning. The loss of noise and faster action may just put the patient at ease.

Discuss Anxiety Treatments Before You Go

Call the office, and let the receptionist know how you feel. Have you had a prior bad experience somewhere? While you don’t have to share the practitioner’s name, you could give an overview of what triggered your nerves. This background could be used to avoid similar situations.

In addition, ask about how they handle anxiety. Some dental offices offer medications to help you relax. You may even ask for numbing medicine to ease the pain of the cleaning.

Offer Entertainment Options

Distractions may work well for many of the patients. While cleaning is getting completed, allow people to listen to music or television programming. It’s hard to read captions from an overhead television when the hygenist is cleaning. Try to provide audio so that the patients may listen and enjoy the show.

Stress mounts as people think about their fears. The dental staff has the chance to cut off that worry by creating a place in which others feel good and welcome.