Distraction Techniques

Dental Anxiety comes in many shapes and sizes, for some the anxiety level is low and more manageable but for others the fear is debilitating and the thought of going ahead with any treatment just seems impossible. For these patients Avenue Dental offer such options as dental treatment under Sedation, and dental treatment under General Anaesthetic.

We are also aware that most of our patients on the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane don’t find visiting us at the top of their favourite things to do list! As a result, all our team members want to make your experience as comfortable as possible from the moment you arrive, to distract you from realising you are at the dentist!

Distraction techniques allow us to keep you more relaxed throughout treatments. This helps you keep your mind off the treatment being performed and manage any underlying anxiety that may be present.

Distraction techniques also work great for children, especially those visiting Avenue Dental for the first time.

Our Plan is to appeal to all of your senses in a positive way. It is very easy to bring back past negative experiences through triggers from certain smells or other stimuli. We want you to have the best dental experience each and every time. If you have any additional requests to the below, our Caloundra, Kawana, Maroochydore, Bli Bli, North Lakes, Baringa, Sippy Downs, Tewantin, Murrumba Downs, Beerwah and Woolloongabba teams are happy to accommodate this for you.

Smell – We use aromatherapy diffusers in our patient lounge so relaxing essential oils is what you can smell. We avoid using old dental products such as oil of cloves – the classic dental odour and smell of the “dentist”.

Taste – On arrival you will be offered a warm/cold drink to aid relaxation before being invited into the dental room.

Visual – We have a selection of current magazines in the dental lounge to help you relax when you arrive. Once undergoing treatment, each dental room has a ceiling television, you can choose something to watch on Netflix, why not distract yourself with an episode of your favourite TV show?

Sound – Once of the biggest triggers for dental anxiety is the sounds from the drill.  During treatment you can wear noise cancelling headphones to listen to music or to what you’re watching on Netflix. This helps you really zone out from the treatment.

Touch – Aside from the obvious of practising “gentle” dentistry; we offer blankets to our patients to both give them comfort and regulate body temperature. We find stress balls can be useful to distract the mind.

We find the above combination really works, why not read about what some of our patients say about us or book at one of our dental practices for an anxious patient consultation.