Five Things You Shouldn’t Do At Your Dental Appointment

Detrimental habits we may have when appointment time is due!

Whether you are a nervous patient or not, the likelihood is that you aren’t particularly looking forward to your dental appointment. Even those with generally healthy teeth and a good cleaning regimen may, at the back of their mind, wonder if the dentist is going to find something wrong. The reality is though, that your regular mouth checks at our Burton practice are important, as are any appointments that you may have to treat a problem.

Having been established in Burton Upon Trent for over thirty years, we have seen thousands of patients in that time and, from our experiences with them, we thought it would be useful not to look at what you SHOULD do when you see your dentist, but what you SHOULDN’T do.

1 – Get yourself worked up about your appointment

This will affect some people more than others. Those who are especially nervous about seeing the dentist may find that their GP will be able to provide them with something which will help to keep them calm during the appointment, so that they can receive essential dental care. It might be easier said than done, but making yourself worry about seeing the dentist will not make it go away, and it does need to be done. Try not to think too much about it and perhaps go out to see a film or something that will take your mind off it, at least until the appointment is nearly due.

2 – Spend ages brushing your teeth the morning of the appointment

Whilst it is good not to have pieces of food stuck between your teeth when we examine your mouth, and also, fresher breath is always nice, the truth is that one good brushing session before you see us will make no difference. Most dental problems happen over a longish period of time and if you haven’t been brushing your teeth well for some time we will know whether you have brushed your teeth before you see us or not. If you don’t want to feel embarrassed about the poor health of your mouth, although of course we won’t judge you, then please make sure that you brush twice daily as advised by all dentists.

3 – Don’t tell the truth

Whether you come to Mike Allen’s Dental Practice with a specific problem, or for a regular check up, the dentist will ask you certain questions, such as have you noticed any changes in your teeth since your last visit. We know that patients don’t want us to find anything wrong with their teeth but not telling us about an issue will not make it go away. If you have been having a problem, whether sensitivity or a dull ache, make sure that you tell us about it so that we can investigate further.

If you omit to mention this, thinking that you won’t need to see us again for another six months, you may well be proved wrong. Any dental issue will almost certainly get worse if not treated promptly. Delaying treatment may mean that when you are finally forced to face it because of pain, any procedure needed is likely to be more extensive.

4 – Close your mouth during treatment

We know that having dental tools inside your mouth isn’t a pleasant experience, but please do keep your mouth open whilst we are examining or treating you. If you close your mouth with tools inside, this could be potentially very dangerous. If you need us to stop for a moment to compose yourself, or feel the need to cough, just raise your hand, the opposite side to the dentist, and we will pause whilst you make yourself comfortable again.

If you think you are experiencing pain during any treatment, do let us know. Modern local anaesthetics are powerful though and it is more likely that you are anticipating pain rather than experiencing any.

5 – Miss or be late for your appointment

Our appointment systems are there for the convenience of our patients. By stating a time, rather than a ‘queuing’ system, it means that you can arrange your day around your appointment time, arranging to take time off work or sorting out childcare. It is frustrating for our staff, and for other patients who could have taken that appointment slot, when patients arrive late or even not at all without letting us know.

If you are ill or genuinely unable to make an appointment for any reason, please do let us know as soon as you possibly can. This allows us to reschedule your appointment and perhaps allow us to contact someone who has asked for an emergency appointment as they are in pain, to see us much earlier than expected.

If you are running late for an appointment, please also let us know. We may be able to allow the person after you to go in first if they are present at the time. If you are running very late, you may have to wait until the dentist can see you, or even reschedule your appointment. You should try to arrive 10-15 minutes before your appointment time to allow time for any necessary paperwork to be completed.

At Mike Allen’s Dental Practice, we aim to provide the best service possible for our patients. To do so, understandably requires a certain level of co-operation from the patients too! We hope that today’s blog helps you to understand what you can do to help us help you.

If you would like to make an appointment to see one of our Burton Upon Trent dentists, please call our reception team on 01283 845345.