Fear Of Dental Treatments
People often talk about how a practitioner’s personality -or rather what it seems like in the eyes of the patient- has an impact on the healing process, but we often forget that the dentist’s therapeutic intuition and accurate gesture depend a lot on his perception of the patient.
Dental healing has a particular view of the karmic relationship between a dentist and his patients. next …
During their studies, dentists are not trained to take into account and transform the negative energies generated by past experiences, nor the very strong collective unconscious regarding dental care.
Dentist related trauma
Indeed, you can imagine it takes a strong character and a lot of confidence to be able to greet kindly day after day patients who step into one’s office saying « I don’t like to come and see you, you’re going to butcher me again, what kind of torture do you have in store for me today ? Dentists and tax collectors shouldn’t exist…” do you see what I mean ?
One of my dentist friends is thinking of selling his practice to go teach deep sea diving in the Maldives « I’m fed up : I want to be loved ! » he told me and it came from the heart.
Yes indeed, dentists have hearts and can be sensitive souls ! And if some of them seem a bit abrupt, it is sometimes only a way to protect themselves.
If you also feel the need to protect yourself and could do with some help to get through this difficult time, here are some tips you could follow to prepare for your dental sessions.
One week before
Depending on the feelings that come up when you think of the upcoming dental session(s).
- anxiety, restlessness, choking sensation: IGNATIA AMARA D10 ; 3 granules 3 times a day
then just before the session
- nerves, fear, despondency, shaking:
GELSENIUM D30 ; 3 granules every morning then 3 in the waiting room MAGNESIUM MARIN 2 tablets morning and night for the duration of the treatment
- fear in a fragile, sensitive person, who needs support:
PULSATILLA D15 ; 3 granules 3 times a day
+ 3 more granules in the waiting room
- in case of fear with tears
AMBRA GRISEA D10 ; 3 granules 3 times a day and in the waiting room
- if you systematically faint when you go to the dentist
LOBELIA INFLATA 9 CH
1 dose the day before
1 dose on the morning of the appointment
- In all cases of dread
VALERIANE root 1 tablet the day before, 1 in the morning and one just before the appointment.
In the waiting room
- Put 5 drops of RESCUE (Bach flowers complex) under your tongue
- Breathe roman chamomile essential oil straight from the bottle during 2 to 3 seconds
- Massage your temples, solar plexus, the inside of your wrists (on the 7MC acupuncture point), the soles of your feet and along your spine with a combination of essential oils that you can ask the pharmacist to prepare beforehand:
Ravintasara EO 2 drops
Ylang ylang EO 2 drops
Rosewood EO 2 drops
Basil EO 1 drop
Neroli 1 drop
Calophylle VO 5 drops
- If you know you tend to panic at the sight of dental instruments
ACONIT D10 ; 1 dose before the session
- Place a magnetic chip on the tip of your sternum (cardiac plexus) for the duration of the session.
You can also plan to arrive a bit ahead of time so you can do
- a session of acupressure
Place a clothing pin on the tip of each finger of your left hand during 7 minutes then do the same on the fingers of your right hand for the next 7 minutes.
It will probably make the other people in the waiting room laugh but there’s nothing like getting the giggles to make anxiety vanish!! !
In the office
- As we are often afraid of what we don’t know, ask the dentist or his/her assistant to tell you about what’s going to happen during the session.
« So today, we are going to install the dental post and the crown on your front tooth, the session will last thirty minutes and you’ll go home with a beautiful smile ! »
- Be proactive and ask questions.
If you think it can reassure you, also ask to be told about what’s happening every step of the way: « now I’m going to dry the area, I’m going to remove the temporary crown, your gum might feel a bit sensitive, raise your hand if it’s too painful, I’m going to hold your tongue a bit firmly to protect it, etc. »
On the chair
- To relax: focus on your toes, relax the muscles in your feet as you breathe in and breathe out and pursue this process as you continue going up along your body. Focus on your ankles, relax your ankles as you breathe in and breathe out. Do the same thing with your calves, knees, thighs, pelvis, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, jaws, lips, cheeks, eyes, forehead, roots of your hair, and finish by taking 3 deep breaths. You might even feel you’re on the verge of falling asleep…
- Abdominal breathing and relaxation: Focus on your breathing while you count. Slowly take a deep breath while counting up to 3. Slowly breathe out while counting up to 6.
- During the sessions, you can massage 2 acupuncture points to relieve your anxiety.
4GI on your hand, between your thumb and your index (not recommended for pregnant women) and 7MC inside your wrist.
Fear of dental care is turning into a phobia:
You should seek help since the lack of dental care could result in your losing your teeth causing irreparable damage.
I can recommend 3 methods.
Ericksonian hypnosis
It is an approach which is flexible, indirect, non prescriptive, and based on the use of metaphors.
It enables us to reach the unconscious which is both good and powerful and to cooperate with it thanks to the state of hypnosis. Thus, the unconscious allows us to find inner resources that can help bring about the desired changes. The goal of Ericksonian hypnosis is to bring the conscious mind and the unconscious to work together in order to trigger the changes needed to solve the problem.
Sophrology
Inspired by hypnosis and oriental disciplines such as yoga or zen, sophrology is a dynamic relaxation technique aimed at turning our anxiety and our phobias into positive thoughts. This mind/body approach mostly relies on physical relaxation, obtained through breathing exercises and visualization of soothing images.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
It is aimed at treating and eliminating disturbances in the body’s energy system so as to alter one’s emotional health.
It can be compared to acupuncture without the needles since this technique is based on tapping certain points located on the meridians as defined in Chinese medicine, in a specific sequence.
It’s a simple and efficient method, which is aimed at helping people manage common negative emotions (fear, sadness, anxiety, stress, emotion related pain, etc.)
It only takes a few minutes for this method to make you feel calmer and it can even make chronic symptoms disappear if it is done regularly with the help of an experienced practitioner.
To be effective, any one of these 3 methods should be used regularly for a few months or a few weeks before the dental treatment.
Then, in the waiting room, you can do a sequence of EFT or relax during the dental care session with the help of sophrology or autohypnosis.
Tell your practitioner what you’re doing so that he/she can help you stay relaxed by keeping the atmosphere as calm as possible in the treatment room.
We hope that this way, little by little, we can transform the collective unconscious and that fear of the dentist will be transformed into love of one’s teeth.
Lire la version française ici – https://naturalcures.com/peur-des-traitements-dentaires
Catherine Rossi
Dr. Catherine ROSSI, dentist, graduate of the Faculty of dental surgery of Toulouse (France) in 1984, I discovered natural medicine in 1983.
I have been practicing my profession in Paris since 1985. I have 3 daughters, 2 grand ‘daughters and I am happy!
The day I started treating myself with alternative medicine and experienced the miracles it had on my health, it became for me inconceivable to prescribe for my patients allopathic remedies as I was taught to do so in the university.
Therefore, I studied and incorporated homeopathy, aromatherapy, phytotherapy, acupuncture etc. into my practice from the very start.
This practice which has come to be defined “holistic dentistry” became for me a reason for being. It was accompanied by a personal evolution, an art of living in harmony with nature, of a consciousness in the role of each living being in the balance of our universe.
As my personal and spiritual work evolves, the care that I provide to my patients has taken on a special dimension: my relationship to another takes on character of sacredness in trust and in Love.
I present this blog to you as my modest contribution for a better world because my belief is that: on the path of life we always advance the best with good teeth.
Website – https://naturebiodental.com/