Going to the dentist for the first time in many years can be very daunting. If you are in this situation, these tips should make this experience a bit easier.
Make a note of specific dental worries that you have
If it has been several years since your last visit to the dentist, there is a probability that you have, during this time, accumulated a number of dental issues that are worrying you. You might, for example, have noticed that your gums are bleeding a lot, that your teeth are now painfully sensitive or that some of your gum tissue has gone numb.
If you do have any such worries, you should make a note of them before heading off to the dentist, because if you're feeling apprehensive about this appointment, your nerves might get the best of you when you arrive. If this happens and you don't have any notes about your dental woes that you can refer to, you might forget all of the issues that you wanted to talk to the dentist about.
Although the dentist will do a very thorough inspection of your teeth and oral tissues, their examination might not reveal the above-mentioned issues. As such, if you don't have any notes to refer to and you get flustered, you may leave the appointment feeling frustrated that you didn't get to talk about the problems that are worrying you, and you might have to go for a second appointment. By bringing along a list of your concerns, you can ensure that you get to express all of your worries during this initial meeting.
Consider getting your teeth cleaned immediately after this appointment
If possible, you might want to see if the clinic can squeeze you in for a scale-and-polish, immediately after the appointment with the dentist. If you haven't been to a dental clinic in years, it is highly likely that you will need to get your teeth cleaned to get rid of all of the calculus that formed on them during this time.
If you book the cleaning for after the dental examination, you won't simply leave the clinic with a long list of dental problems that the dentist found and now needs to fix for you (which could be disheartening and might even leave you too upset to return to the clinic). Instead, you will go home with a set of imperfect, but extremely clean teeth. This should give you a boost. And though your teeth will probably still be in need of several other treatments, you will be one step closer to getting them in tip-top shape.
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