Island Life Magazine Ltd February / March 2016 | Page 92

FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY How to beat your fear of dentists James Spence of James Spence and Colleagues Dental Surgeons, Ryde, discusses dental phobias and how visiting the hygienist can overcome the fear of dentists... Alison Swensson joined our team in 1994 F lying, spiders and dentists are the three most common phobias in the UK and whereas we can’t help much with the flying and spiders we can help with dental phobia. One of the ways we do this is by our hygienist team offering immediate access for nervous new patients who are too afraid to see a dentist, for advice and cleaning and will take the consultation gently at your pace, only calling in the dentist if and when you agree. You can make an appointment with one of our hygienists by calling 615108. The importance of having your mouth checked cannot be understated as we are able to spot early signs of mouth cancer and generally stop it in its tracks by catching it early. In a less vital, but socially important area, we are able help you beat 92 www.visitilife.com Lynn Morris joined our team in 1998 any problems with bad breath, stained teeth and bleeding gums. Bleeding gums obviously cause bad breath as the blood residue sticks to the bacterial deposits at the gum edge and breaks down leading not only to bad breath, but also often to gum disease, deeper pockets and further bleeding. There is also a significant body of evidence linking poor gums to heart disease. Our hygienist team will usually deal with bleeding gums by guided brushing where you learn to manage the problem yourself, often reducing the bleeding to close to nil, before they professionally finish the cleaning by then removing hard chalky deposits which have become fused to the teeth. Cathy Adamou joined our team in 2004 At the same time they can advise you on various pastes such as ‘Tooth Mousse’ which you can apply at home to damaged areas of enamel, and which help the enamel to recover without needing fillings. Recent research from Australia has confirmed that patients who take control in this way can expect 30 per cent less decay and fillings over a 10 year period. Many phobic patients when they learn to take control of their own dental health, and reduce the bleeding gums, then find it much easier to cope with a full dental inspection, so let’s make 2016 the year when you beat your dental phobia and improve your general health at the same time.