Island Life Magazine Ltd February / March 2016 | Page 92
FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY
How to beat your
fear of dentists
James Spence of James Spence and Colleagues Dental
Surgeons, Ryde, discusses dental phobias and how
visiting the hygienist can overcome the fear of dentists...
Alison Swensson
joined our team in 1994
F
lying, spiders and dentists are the
three most common phobias in
the UK and whereas we can’t help
much with the flying and spiders we
can help with dental phobia. One of the
ways we do this is by our hygienist team
offering immediate access for nervous
new patients who are too afraid to see a
dentist, for advice and cleaning and will
take the consultation gently at your pace,
only calling in the dentist if and when you
agree. You can make an appointment with
one of our hygienists by calling 615108.
The importance of having your mouth
checked cannot be understated as we are
able to spot early signs of mouth cancer
and generally stop it in its tracks by
catching it early. In a less vital, but socially
important area, we are able help you beat
92
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Lynn Morris joined
our team in 1998
any problems with bad breath, stained
teeth and bleeding gums.
Bleeding gums obviously cause bad
breath as the blood residue sticks to the
bacterial deposits at the gum edge and
breaks down leading not only to bad
breath, but also often to gum disease,
deeper pockets and further bleeding.
There is also a significant body of
evidence linking poor gums to heart
disease.
Our hygienist team will usually deal
with bleeding gums by guided brushing
where you learn to manage the problem
yourself, often reducing the bleeding to
close to nil, before they professionally
finish the cleaning by then removing
hard chalky deposits which have become
fused to the teeth.
Cathy Adamou joined
our team in 2004
At the same time they can advise
you on various pastes such as ‘Tooth
Mousse’ which you can apply at home
to damaged areas of enamel, and which
help the enamel to recover without
needing fillings. Recent research from
Australia has confirmed that patients
who take control in this way can expect
30 per cent less decay and fillings over a
10 year period.
Many phobic patients when they learn
to take control of their own dental
health, and reduce the bleeding gums,
then find it much easier to cope with
a full dental inspection, so let’s make
2016 the year when you beat your
dental phobia and improve your general
health at the same time.