Dealing with Dental Fear – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Recently I’ve been helping a huge number of people to overcome their dental anxiety in Ely. Many of them have been referred to me by their dentist or hygienist to get help to overcome their intense fear and anxiety around having dental treatment.

As with all fears, I’ve encountered a wide spectrum of experiences from those who can manage check ups but dread having work done, to those who have avoided the dentist for decades. I’ve recently helped people who are in acute tooth pain and know they need dental treatment yet keep putting it off, and those who now face the prospect of losing teeth because they have avoided check ups for so long.

And if you currently struggle with fear of the dentist, you may worry about experiencing pain or having injections, or you may remember previous times when you’ve panicked and worry about it happening again. Or perhaps it’s a feeling of being out of control, a fear of all medical situations, the smell of the dentist surgery or – and this is commonly cited as an issue – the sound of the drill.

Ending Dentist Fear

To overcome your fear of the dentist you need to:

a) Take control over your imagination – so instead of imagining being at the dentist and being panicky, you can calm your mind down and imagine being there feeling calm and ok.

b) Break the link to previous experiences at the dentist – our minds use our previous experiences as a guide to how to respond now and in the future to similar things. If you have been anxious or had a panic attack around the dentist before, then you need to learn to stop your mind using this as the template of what to do at the dentist.

c) Have strategies to be physically and mentally relaxed on the day of your check up or dental work.

Taking Control Over Fear of the Dentist

To start the process of taking back control over your fear, you can learn to feel physically calm and relaxed whilst also learning how to control your thoughts and imagination.

Here is one way to start diluting your dental fear:

a) Sit back (you can lie back – a bit like being in the dentist chair), close your eyes and focus on your breathing. As you notice your breathing, on every out breath start saying the word ‘relax’ to yourself and continue doing this for a few minutes. Whilst doing this you can also place your hands gently on your stomach and imagine inflating your stomach like a balloon on every in breath and then deflating it as you let the air out.

You may find it helpful to grab your copy of my free relaxation MP3 to help you do this (just enter your details on the right of the page).

b) Keeping your eyes closed, imagine watching yourself on the day of your dentist appointment, looking calm and relaxed as you arrive at the reception and take a seat in the waiting area. Watch yourself as you enter the dentist’s room and sit back in the seat. Notice you look totally relaxed and comfortable all the way through to when you leave, everything having gone successfully.

c) Replay this movie a few times, with everything calm and comfortable, all the way through to having successfully completed your appointment. Each time make it more vivid, add in the sounds of the dentist and see yourself looking calm, in control and relaxed. Add in some positive thoughts to yourself about how you can do this and how you are calm, confident and in control.

d) When you have run your calm movie a few times, open your eyes and remind yourself that you will be ok.

In this way, you can start to train your mind to feel calm at the thought of the dentist and your appointment. The more you repeat this, and the more vividly you imagine everything going well, the stronger that association of calmness will become.

And soon you’ll be leaving your appointment, everything having gone well, and getting on with your day knowing that whenever you choose to in the future, you can confidently go to the dentist again.

Best wishes,

Dan Regan

Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

www.danreganhypnotherapy.co.uk/issues/phobias-and-fears

Struggling with dental anxiety, stress, worry and fear and need some help? Find out how I can help with a Complimentary Hypnotherapy Strategy Session. Learn more here: Appointments

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