One of the most common reasons why people suffer from dental anxiety is a traumatic experience in their past.
Whether they were a child or an adult, a dentist visit that goes wrong can have lasting psychological effects for many patients. Fortunately, those that suffer from trauma have options.
Our adult daughter has cerebral palsy and requires being fully sedated when having anything done. The DAC was such a positive experience. Dr Hoffmann and his staff were kind and did great explaining things. As a mom, I had a lot of questions about how certain things would be done as usually she’s in her chair when getting examined at her local dentist and they had everything under control including transferring from her chair to the dentist chair and keeping her secured in the dentist chair as well as keeping her neck and legs comfortable. Many thanks to them!
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words. We’re grateful for your trust and happy to hear that you had such a positive experience with our team. Our goal is always to provide compassionate, attentive care in a safe and comfortable environment. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
TWENTY YEARS! That is how long our special needs son has been seeing Dr Hoffman and his dedicated team! Our son suffers from an intellectual disability, is non-verbal, and is unable to cooperate for dental cleaning, x-rays, or other routine dental work. He requires general anesthesia. It is such a blessing to avoid a hospital setting just for dental work.
The team is always well staffed, friendly, personable and very professional. Every single year we have been supported by a deeply caring team who are dedicated to patients with a very wide range of disabilities and needs. They have shared useful dental advice and tools (3 sided toothbrushes, blocks to hold open their mouth for daily at-home care, etc.) which improved our son’s daily dental care. We always receive a call back the day after to check his recovery-even on weekends!
Highly recommended and so appreciative to have this team supporting our ever long road of raising a special needs son.
Response from the owner:Wow — thank you for sharing such a heartfelt review! We are so grateful for your trust and for allowing our team to be part of your family’s journey over the years. It means so much to us to know that our care and support have made a difference. We truly appreciate your kind words and recommendation!
We've been coming to Dr.Hoffman for twenty years. There's a reason we keep coming back! He's great. His staff is great. He's double boarded as an MD (Anesthesia) and DDS!!! Our son with special needs needs sedation for even a cleaning. You get what you pay for. He's expensive and... we know he's getting the best care!
Response from the owner:Thank you for trusting our team over the years and for your kind words about Dr. Hoffmann and our staff. We truly value your confidence in the care we provide!
Omg!! This place is Amazing! The people who work here are so very nice and understanding. I love this team
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words! We truly appreciate your support and are grateful to have such wonderful patients.
Searching for a new dental clinic is challenging for someone who has
dental anxiety, fear, and traumatic experiences in a dental chair. The staff and doctors at the Dental Anesthesia Center were immediately very welcoming. Dr. Thoms put together a very detailed plan to repair and replace the previous work that I had in the past that was now causing problems. Putting my faith in him was the best thing that I could have done for my situation. I am more than completely satisfied with all of the extensive dental work that I’ve had with Dr.Thoms. I had my fourth sleep dentistry experience yesterday and I’m very happy with my results. I highly recommend this practice and truly want to give them more than five stars! Thank you for giving me back my health and confidence.
Response from the owner:We know it isn’t always easy to find a dental office where you feel at ease, so your words mean the world to us. We’re so glad you feel comfortable with our team and truly appreciate your trust and recommendation!
Respect the Statistics
No matter what happened to you in a dentist’s office, the odds of something bad happening again are minuscule. The truth is that dentistry is incredibly safe. Something else to note is that your trauma might not have been exactly as you remember it. This is often the case when people have their experience as a child. They recall high levels of pain, but would not feel as bad if they had been an adult at the time.
Find Someone You Trust
An excellent way to calm your nerves is the find a dentist that you trust. Often, the first step in doing so is looking at reviews online. What they will do for you in give you confidence in a provider based on the fact that so many others have been satisfied in the past. Next, you can meet that dentist and the office staff. More than likely, you’ll have a connection with them and be okay with letting them treat you.
Controlled Exposure
Controlled exposure is a technique that has been consistently proven to be effective. In a dental context, it involves you gradually exposing yourself to more and more dental anxiety. In the process, you become braver and able to fight your fear. That process might go something like this:
- Talk to the dentist on the phone about your issues and the possibility of an appointment.
- Drive to the dentist office, but don’t go in.
- Schedule an initial consultation with no treatment.
- Go to a full appointment.
Breathing Exercises
Another way to calm yourself down is through breathing exercises. What sufferers of anxiety often don’t know is that controlling your breath is critical if you want to manage your emotions. When you get worked up, you start to over breath, which creates a feedback loop that heightens anxiety. You can stop this cycle by breathing slowly and deeply, rather than the quick and choppy inhalations that characterize anxious episodes.
Consider Sedation Dentistry
Perhaps the best method of overcoming a traumatic dental experience is using sedation dentistry. What this practice involves is medicating you to the point of partial loss of consciousness. Doing so will lessen your pain response and keep you calm throughout your treatment. Sometimes, lifestyle changes are not enough and medication is necessary for getting you the oral care you need. Sedatives can fill that role for you.
No matter how traumatic your past dental experience was, you cannot avoid this type of medical care your entire life. Instead, you should do whatever you can do get back into the dentist and get the treatment you need.
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The first two board-certified Dentist Anesthesiologists in the state of Missouri.
