Being scared of going to the dentist can have consequences for your oral health. If you put off going to the dentist because you are scared of the pain, the noise, the needles, then you could be going about not having to experience these things the wrong way.

The best way to avoid having to have any dental treatment is to turn up to twice-yearly check-ups and make sure you also get your twice-yearly deep cleans with the hygienist.

That’s great advice if you have not already been putting off going for a check-up for some time, in which case it’s not much help at all.

What might help however, is to know that at David Madruga in Marylebone, we are very experienced in dealing with nervous patients and do all in our power to make your experience with us as relaxing as possible.

When you come to see us, you will find yourself in a friendly, calm environment where the staff will take care of you.

If you have never been to us before, it can help to pop in and meet us for a chat before having any treatment so that you can get used to being here. Next time you come, it won’t seem so daunting.

We will always take the time to discuss your treatment with you so that you understand what is going to happen and are satisfied that all your questions have been answered.

If, at any time, you need to stop your treatment to take a break, that is fine. You just need to let us know that you need a breather.

If you want, you can also have conscious sedation, which is a way to deeply relax you without giving you a general anaesthetic. You can have either oral or intravenous sedation.

Oral sedation is a tablet that you take about an hour before your appointment. It will wear off pretty quickly after your treatment is over.

Intravenous sedation goes straight into your bloodstream and is more immediate. You might be groggy for a while after treatment.

Both forms will relax you really deeply, but you will still be able to answer questions if we need to talk to you.

It’s only when you start to lose your teeth that you realise how vital they are, not just for eating but for talking, smiling, laughing and holding your face in place. Now that yours are on the way out, how will you replace them, bearing in mind that you aren’t the world’s most fearless dental patient?

Well, it would be easy to go for the least invasive option and get dentures made. But dentures only give you about 25% of the chewing power of real teeth, and after a while they lose their grip and can give you all sorts of embarrassing moments. How about, if you’re only losing a few teeth in a row, fixed bridgework? It’s more stable, for sure, but having a bridge means compromising 2 neighbouring teeth, which have to be ground down and fitted with crowns to become buttresses. Seems a bit extreme.

So what about dental implants then? Or does your fear outweigh the opportunity to have replacement teeth that give you back full functionality? Please don’t let it. Instead, come to David Madruga in Marylebone and receive treatment from a dentist well used to nervous dental implant patients. In truth, with dental implants, you have nothing to fear but fear itself, but that’s not very helpful when you are up against anxiety.

David Madruga and his highly experienced team have treated many nervous dental implant patients using conscious sedation.

What is conscious sedation?

Conscious sedation means that you are awake and can respond to questions should you need to be, but you are so deeply relaxed that most of the time, you are not really even concentrating on what is going on with the implant surgery, let alone able to get worried about it.

You can have oral sedation, which means taking a tablet about an hour before surgery. Or you can have intravenous sedation, which is administered straight into the bloodstream through the back of your hand. The latter can be controlled as we go through surgery.

Afterwards the sedation wears off quickly, but you will need someone to make sure you get home safely.

It’s no fun being scared of things that other people have no problem with at all. Thunderstorms, for example. Some people find them exhilarating, others are hiding behind the sofa with the dog. Spiders, too. One person can pick them up and put them outside while their friend is whimpering with terror of this thing with 8 hairy legs and a desire to terrify. Dentists too. Your friend sails in to get their check-ups, doesn’t think twice about local anaesthetics and fillings. You though. Well, you’ve lost count of the number of appointments you’ve missed because when it came down to it, you were just too scared to go.

Was it because your mum was scared of the dentist too? Was it because she never took you when you were young so the first time you went you had to have loads of fillings and they didn’t even offer you a local anaesthetic? Was it the noise of the drill? You can’t quite remember. You just know that all your life, you’ve been lucky to make it to one check-up every 5 years, let alone twice a year. And every time you go, there’s always a long list of work that needs to be done. In fact, it gets longer every time and last time, they were talking about root canals and extractions, maybe even dental implants, if you wanted to get out of the vicious cycle you are in with your teeth.

Because that’s the thing with being scared of the dentist. You don’t go, and you don’t go and you don’t go, and when you do, decay and gum disease have made things so much worse than if you’d gone for regular check-ups in the first place. It’s such a horrible situation to be in.

But here at David Madruga, we know all about dental phobia. It is real. It affects about 13% of the population and you are not alone. When you come to us for help, we will be able to take you through the whole treatment process with a great deal of compassion, zero judgment on the state of your teeth and sedation so that you can finally relax.