Dental anxiety support

We work with people who are very anxious about visiting the dentist. We work closely with other members of the dental team, including dentists, nurses and dental hygienists.

We will work with you to identify your priorities for changing how you feel about visiting the dentist. Many patients want help with:

• feeling less anxious about going into the dental surgery
• feeling less anxious about receiving a dental injection
• having dental treatment
• taking children to the dentist

Your treatment

One way we can help people is using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

CBT helps you to link your thinking patterns, beliefs, emotions and behaviour, and notice how they affect each other. We may also give you self-help assignments, such as practising relaxation skills or learning about dental equipment. These can help you to learn to deal with your dental fear.

You might see a dentist at your second or third appointment if you have been referred by your GP or if you have not seen a dentist in a long time. This is for your own health and wellbeing, and to check that you have no urgent dental treatment needs.

We will always ask for your permission to perform the examination. If you agree, a dentist will briefly examine your mouth and teeth. We can do this in a non-dental room and without the use of any dental equipment.

You may also have an X-ray to take an image of your mouth. This is called an orthopantogram (OPG) and does not involve having anything inside your mouth.

We can discuss this with you in more detail at your first appointment. Together, we will decide on the most appropriate setting for any treatment you may need. This might be with your own dentist or a specialist in the hospital setting. 

We'll decide together if you need more psychology appointments. You can stop seeing the psychology team at any time, but we hope that this will be after your anxiety has improved.