Dental Anxiety Treatment Mona Vale
It is normal to be afraid of going to the dentist and we specialise in catering to patients with dental anxiety. Many people find the dentist terrifying and this can result in them putting of necessary dental treatments until it is too late.
We empathise with your fears and aim to put them at bay with our unique and caring approach to dentistry. Its important to us to understand your fears and triggers so we can find solutions, respect and workaround them
How we are different
Our dentist Dr. Malcolm Cooke wants to understand what your fears are so that he can put them at ease. We have a specially designed practice to make you feel calmer from the moment you walk in the door.
If dental anxiety causes you to avoid regular dental check ups it can lead to more serious dental issues that could be easily avoided when detected earlier. We don’t want you to let your dental phobia negatively affect your dental wellbeing.
We have many different pain-management solutions for your treatments and we can find one to suit you. We talk through your worries to choose the best solution so that you can avoid your fears. For example…
Simple, effective, drug free relaxation aids
- Bose noise reducing headphones to block out any sounds that are unpleasant for you
- Television or movies to keep you distracted and occupied
- You get a blanket for the procedure to cuddle up under
- Lip balm where possible
- A caring nurse watching over you while the dentist is in your mouth
- No nasty dental smells to bring back memories
Painless needles that work or we stop
Our painless needle practices mean that patients often do not even realise that they have received a needle and it is not rare for them to comment that they didn’t even feel it!
All of our staff are trained with special pain-free injection techniques. We have an agreement and stop system so, that if something even uncomfortable, they can tell us and we will stop.
12 different ways of getting you numb
Ever had the needle and it didn’t work?
We have more choices, not just one type of anaesthetic, and 4 different ways of placing the anesthetic so that we can get the tooth numb every time.
Plus a dentist who is not happy to proceed unless you are actually numb!
Happy Gas (nitrous oxide)
We ensure safe and appropriate administration of happy gas so that you go through the procedure relaxed – and happy! Many patients enjoy the treatment and the effects wear off in a few minutes after the procedure so that you are safe to leave the practice unaffected.
NuCalm
NuCalm allows you to experience anxiety-free dental care and is suitable for all patients. NuCalm is a “combination therapy” which utilised advanced neuroscience technology to quickly relax patients without narcotics or controlled substances.
NuCalm is the natural solution to reducing anxiety by bringing your body into a pre-sleep, deeply relaxed state. Firstly we administer dietary supplement tablets with naturally occurring substances, which are specially designed to relax the patient. We then place micro current patches behind the ears to encourage the relaxation response of your body. Headphones and eye masks are also used to block out noise and light.
The NuCalm sedation techniques have proven to be extremely successful and popular with Smile Doctor patients and we are so confident about the results that we offer a free trial with your treatment.
Oral Sedation or relaxation tablets
We can prescribe you relaxation tablets to take before to help you through the procedure if you can’t handle needles for sedation.
Sedation & Sleep Dentistry
We provide different levels of sedation to suit each patient’s needs. For patients who experience extreme anxiety we provide “sleep dentistry”, which means we safely administer sedatives to make them very relaxed and drowsy. The patient has no recollection of the procedure the following day and it is as if you “slept” through the whole thing. This can mean injection into your arm muscle or into your bloodstream for a more potent effect with an anaesthetist present.
These modalities are excellent for slightly nervous patients having long appointments or getting a lot done in one visit.
Happy Gas
Green Whistle
Nucalm
NuCalm, anxiety free dental care
Few people can honestly say they enjoy a dental visit. For many, we realise it’s a terrifying ordeal and the anxiety starts at the thought of going to the dentist. Well, that’s about to change – one patient at a time as the NuCalm trainers say.
NuCalm is for all patients, but the more anxious you get, the more profound the effects will be.
NuCalm has been available in the USA for 2 years, and Smile Doctor was one of the first dentists to introduce this amazing technology to Australians in June 2012.
We’re very excited about it because anxious, difficult to treat patients and gaggers actually become good patients.
NuCalm is a “combination therapy ” which creates a deeply relaxed state within minutes, making it almost impossible to get anxious with no harmful drugs or side effects. You’re conscious, relaxed, and you’ll find your treatment goes smoothly and is over quickly.
There’s no profound effect or grogginess. You’ll get up from our treatment chair feeling that your treatment went easily, and that’s it. For some, they may feel they have been deeply relaxed, even refreshed instead of exhausted and sweaty.
You’ll be able to drive home safely, and most likely have the best sleep you have had in ages that night!
Yes, I know, you don’t believe us. Too good to be true ! We thought so too at first !
This is not some radical treatment. The key to its success is four components that have been available separately for many years, but working together, they rapidly bring the body into a truly deep state of calm.
No needles, nothing invasive, nothing scary.
This is how it works
You’ll be given some tablets containing naturally occurring substances actually made by your body to counteract the stress response, dark glasses, some noise-dampening headphones to deliver proprietary neuroacoustic software, layered with soothing music, which brings your brain wave pace to the pre-sleep stage. Finally some microcurrent stimulation patches are placed behind each ear at a level below what you can feel. Research shows this helps facilitate the relaxation response.
Everyone who has tried NuCalm is very happy to use it again… and again. It’s that good.
We’re so confident we offer our patients one free trial with your treatment.
Sedation
Some people put off dental treatment because they are just too scared. This means you can end up losing teeth and needing more complex treatment, or settling for dentures.
At the Smile Doctor, we make it easy for you.
We have a range of methods to sedate and calm you during treatment.
- Firstly, and most importantly, our needles are painless. Yes, that’s right, you don’t feel them. Patients don’t like being hurt. We often hear, “Did you just give me a needle, I didn’t feel anything?” or “Why is my lip going numb, you haven’t given me the needle yet have you?”. It’s a great compliment.
- You can try “happy gas” (nitrous oxide) and we can alter the mixture to find a level that works for you. Some people absolutely love this treatment. It’s actually fun! It wears off in a few minutes and you can leave the practice completely unaffected.
- The best experience for the really scared is an injection of relaxing drugs. This form of sedation, or “sleep dentistry”, makes you very drowsy and relaxed during treatment PLUS you’ll have no memory of the treatment the next day. You’ll actually think you slept through it all.
Intramuscular sedation can be administered by one of our dentists but we have sessions available with an anaesthetist present, using slightly more potent drugs intravenously and supervising your health as well where required. You can choose what’s appropriate for you.
