Afraid of the Dentist? Read This First

Most dental websites mention comfort somewhere. We put it in our founding idea: Fear-Less Dentistry. That is not a slogan we added later. It is the patient we organized the practice around.

Dental fear is ordinary

Roughly half of all Americans dread going to the dentist, and a meaningful share avoid going entirely. The reasons are rarely mysterious: a rough experience as a child, a dentist who did not stop when asked, a fear of needles, difficulty getting numb, or simple embarrassment about how long it has been.

Every one of those walks through our door regularly. None of them surprises us.

What we actually do differently

A few concrete things, not vibes:

• We ask first. Your first appointment starts with a conversation about what makes visits hard, before anyone reclines a chair.
• You keep control. We agree on a stop signal before we begin. Raising your hand pauses the work. Every time.
• We explain, or we don’t. Some patients relax when every step is narrated. Others prefer silence and a distraction. Both are fine; tell us which one you are.
• Numbing gets special attention. Patients who have had trouble getting numb before are handled deliberately, with extra time budgeted so nothing is rushed.
• Comfort options scale up. For patients who need more than technique, sedation options exist, and Dr. Balaban is a DOCS member with years of experience treating fearful patients. We wrote a separate post about what sedation actually feels like.

The years-away patient

If it has been five or ten years, you are not our most difficult patient. You are our most common new one. There is no lecture waiting for you here, just an honest look at where things stand and a plan that goes at your pace.

Smile Arts Dental is on Medical Drive in Carmel, serving Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville, and north Indianapolis. Call (317) 575-1995, or request an appointment online and write “nervous patient” in the note. We will take it from there.