Fear of the unknown can be debilitating but knowledge brings empowerment. So empower yourself or a friend or family member you know to overcome fear of the dentist by finding out what you can expect to happen at a dental checkup.

Answer Some Questions

Arrive at your dentist appointment 10 minutes before the scheduled time so that you will have plenty of time to answer some questions his office will want to ask you. Be prepared to fill out a medical questionnaire. The dentist just needs to make sure there aren’t any medications or procedures you shouldn’t have. Some medical conditions, like diabetes, can have an impact on dental problems and treatment so knowing your medical history will help your dentist take better care of you.

Meet Your Dentist

On your first appointment, the dentist will want to sit in his office with you and get to know you a little bit. He will ask if there are any dental problems or pain you’re experiencing and will give you a chance to ask any questions or concerns you have.

Sit Through an Inspection

The dentist will direct you to a comfortable dental exam chair which you’ll sit in beneath a bright light. The dentist will ask you to open your mouth so that he can do a visual inspection of your teeth.

Get Poked a Little

After a brief visual exam, the dentist might poke your teeth and gums a little bit with a special instrument to check for inflammation around your gum line and to inspect any cavities or fillings you have. This exam will help the dentist spot areas of decay on your teeth so that he can get rid of it and get you on your way to a healthy mouth.

Take X-Rays

The dentist will then escort you to a special room where he’ll take x-ray pictures of your mouth so that he can examine your jaw and see what your teeth and their roots are doing.

After all of this, the dentist will talk to you about how to treat a specific pain or problem you came in for, or will have a dental hygienist clean and polish your teeth. Now that you know what to expect, and that dentists are caring individuals who want to help you have a healthy mouth, go ahead and make your appointment today.

I have two toddlers and they’ve taught me many interesting, and often funny things about life and why people do what they do. For example, kids really don’t like you putting your fingers or a thermometer (or a vegetable for that matter) in their mouths. Don’t go near their ears, eyes or mouth. Maybe that’s why so many adults can’t stand going to the dentist.

If your answer to the question, “how often should I see the dentist” is “never” or “only when I’m in insufferable pain,” you’d have fit in well in the 1950s. Back then, there were no guidelines on how often a person should visit his dentist. Military physicals for new recruits showed that most people had rotten teeth riddled with problems. Thankfully today we have guidelines.

Every Six Months …

Dentists and dental organizations say you should see your dentist every six months to avoid major dental pain and problems. Going to the dentist twice a year helps your dentist identify concerns before they turn into costly and painful problems. Some people should see their dentists more frequently.

Or Sooner.

Most people should go to the dentist every six months. A very small number can get away with one trip a year and some people need to go every three or four months. If you fall into one of these categories, you’d benefit from seeing your dentist three to four times each year:

• Smokers
• People with gum disease
• People with diabetes
• People who get lots of plaque and cavities
• People highly susceptible to bacterial infections

Sometimes a temporary situation will require you to see the dentist more often. Once the issue clears up, you can get back to semi-annual visits. In addition to dental visits, we all need to brush twice a day and floss every evening.

Next time, we’ll talk about what happens at a regular dental checkup so you know exactly what your dentist plans to do with your mouth. Until then, happy flossing!

His clammy palms wiped away tiny beads of perspiration from the top of his forehead. He checked his watch for the tenth time in the last two minutes. He fingered a shiny metal object in his pocket, making it clink gently against the change in his pocket.

“It’s not too late to back out,” he thought. The tall, slender man in his early thirties shot a frenzied glance at the door and calculated how long it would take him to get to the other side of it.

If that story sounds like a near-engagement proposal gone awry, you might be surprised to learn that it could just as easily be describing one of the many Americans terrified of going to the dentist. Many people get nervous at the mere thought of going to the dentist. The fear is so strong that many people choose to endure tooth pain for months before they’ll see a dentist. If you loathe dental visits, you should know that dentists are highly trained, caring individuals who deal with fearful patients everyday. Plus, there are a few simple things you can do to take the edge off your next visit.

What You Can do to Make Your Next Appointment Less Scary

According to the American Dental Association, you might be worrying needlessly about your next dentist appointment. Advances in dental treatment and techniques are making procedures, from routine to rare, more comfortable every day. Still, there are a few simple things you can do to lessen your anxiety:

• Tell the dentist that you’re scared, tense or anxious when you arrive
• Choose a time for your appointment when you won’t be rushed (like a Saturday morning or early on a weekday)
• Take an mp3 player and headphones with you to wear during your appointment to block out the sound of the dental equipment
• Close your eyes and visualize yourself in your favorite spot during the appointment
• Talk to your dentist about sedation dentistry or mild sedative gasses that can be administered during complex procedures

Try some of these tips out at your next visit, or share what works for you by leaving a comment below.

I can remember my first visit to the dentist. I don’t know who was more put out – the dentist or me! 
No one ever warned me about this strange masked man, the rubber gloves and that drill. It was scary!
Now as an adult, with my own children, I can understand why it was such an awful first experience. No one talked to me about what to expect. No one explained to me why I needed to go to the dentist and have a stranger look at my teeth.
Because of that, I made that first visit very difficult. Before the visit had barely started I had clinched my jaw and wasn’t going to open for anyone! And so it went for what seemed like an entire afternoon. Actually, as I recall, the dentist was pretty good about my stubbornness. He seemed to understand, which helped my fears dissipate.
Dr. Michael Obeng, founder of Emergency Dental Care USA, understands too.
Gently helping children understand why dental care is so important will help with that first visit,” Dr. Obeng says.
“Children will only understand as much as we allow them to understand.”
My first visit to the dentist became the backdrop to a lifetime of dental care. I never really got over my fear of the dentist.
That’s why, when it came to my own children, I felt it was so important to prepare them for the dentist. I even took them with me when I had an exam. They became very comfortable with our dentist and even enjoyed those visits.
 “Talk with your children about the dentist,” Dr. Obeng advices. “It could easily be the first step in building a healthy foundation when it comes to taking care of their teeth.”