What Is Dental Anxiety? | Comox, BC

Do you feel scared of the dentist, but need treatment? You are not alone. The Dental Association reports that 22 percent of patients experience dental anxiety. If you are like many patients, you undergo some degree of uneasiness when facing the need to visit the dentist. It can be unsettling having someone explore a personal area of your body, such as your mouth, gums, and teeth. For some patients, this nervousness extends beyond being mildly unsettling. Those who experience aggressive forms of dental anxiety may be so panic-stricken by thoughts of visiting the dentist, they avoid it to the point where mild dental issues become severe. When this happens, it can trigger a cascade effect requiring more invasive dental procedures or other repercussions, such as a tooth extraction, root canal, or emergency dental work.

Dental anxiety can also lead to poor self-esteem as most of us are concerned about our appearance. Even though most patients do not know what the dentist is looking for when conducting a dental exam, routine dental visits can help you avoid many of the would-be scarier complications. Working through dental anxiety can enable you to get the preventive care you may need to potentially avoid more intense dental treatments.

Dental anxiety is not a condition you can overcome in a day though, as most patients who have anxiety suffer from extreme discomfort, nervousness, fear, and even panic at the thought of going to the dentist. In more extreme cases, it manifests in very real symptoms. Unfortunately, this fear and anxiety causes many patients to put off going to the dentist, sometimes for years, or even decades. Some patients avoid seeing the dentist altogether until their pain is so intense, they can no longer avoid it. You can prevent extensive oral health issues through regular cleanings, examinations, and dental checkups, along with a few minor procedures along the way. Taking care of your teeth is about so much more than protecting the integrity of your smile and working to overcome dental anxiety.

NuCalm is a revolutionary technology proven to naturally relax the body without drugs. The NuCalm system causes effective, safe anxiolysis where a deep relaxed state is induced and maintained for the entire experience. The benefits of NuCalm for dental treatment include significantly reduced patients motor responses, reduced salivary flow, gag reflex, white knuckling, jerking or startled responses, and reduced muscle tension in the head and neck.



The patient is manageable without being rendered chemically unconscious. No narcotics or controlled substances are used for the NuCalm experience. The system naturally mimics the body's pathways for preparing for sleep. The patient can come and go to their appointment on their own with no recovery time or supervision required. The patient’s post-treatment experience is a feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation.