Experts suggest that you should visit the dentist at least twice a year. If you follow this rule of thumb, your next dental visit is coming up sooner than you think. You may be dreading this visit as you got a lot of finger-wagging last time over your poor oral care practices.
But, luckily, you can avoid getting the same results this time. Read on to learn some ways you can prepare your mouth before going to the dentist. You’ll also learn about some other things you need to do before your appointment.
Cancel if Necessary
Are you getting butterflies just because you’re struggling with a fear of dentists? Or do you just not like your current dentist?
Record Your Feelings
Consider your feelings and write them down. Read them over and see if these feelings stem from a general fear of dentists or a fear of one dentist. If you feel it’s the latter, consider canceling your upcoming appointment.
Cancel Your Appointment
Make sure to cancel your appointment at least 48 hours before it happens. You can then likely avoid any charges.
Look for Another Dentist
Afterward, you can start looking for a new dentist. Who knows? You may even love this dentist.
Call to Confirm Your Appointment
Do you have the correct date, time, and location for your dentist appointment? If you’re not sure, it’s acceptable to call the dentist’s office to confirm. It should only take a few minutes for the receptionist to look up your appointment.
Write on a Sticky
Once you confirm your appointment, write the information down. You may want to write it down on a sticky note. You can then stick this note where you can see it.
Write in a Calendar
Or, even better, you can write all the information down in a calendar app. With this, you can also set various alarms to remind you of your appointment.
Don’t Be Late
The alarm from your calendar app should help you avoid being late. But even with that, things can still happen. You can run into traffic, for instance.
Inconvenience
If you’re late, you can make things inconvenient for your dentist. They often have very busy schedules. By being late, you could make the dentist arrive late for all their other appointments.
Check the Traffic
So make sure that you check the traffic levels around an hour before you leave. Leave early if you need to.
Have Your Information Ready
Are you going to see a new dentist this time? If so, your new dentist will need you to give them a lot of personal information. Have all this information on hand so you can respond quickly and accurately.
The Basics
On the basic level, your dentist will need to know your phone number, email address, etc. These are things that you should have easily memorized.
But people often have brain farts at the worst possible moments. You may want to write down this information so you can pull it up when you need it.
Medical Information
Having the right medical information is even more important. What if you don’t tell a dentist that you’re allergic to a certain drug? You could end up putting your life in danger!
Some drugs can also interact poorly with certain medical conditions. Make sure to mention if you have any such conditions as well. The doctors want to keep you as safe as possible.
Oral Care Before Dental Visit
You may have heard that you must brush your teeth before you go to the dentist. This isn’t completely necessary if you’re getting a cleaning. Dentists will clean out your teeth regardless of their condition.
Clean if Desired
Still, you can brush your teeth if it makes you feel more comfortable. You won’t get in the way of your dentist’s work if you show up with clean teeth.
Your dentist will probably appreciate it if you make their work easier for them. They’ll also work better if your mouth smells fairly nice.
Eating Before Dentist
Should you eat right before you go to the dentist? It might be a good idea to not eat for a few hours before you go to the dentist. Having a lot of food particles in your teeth can cause irritation while you’re undergoing cleaning.
Plus, people who are scared of dentists may get nauseous in the dentist’s chair. Dentalphobes may want to refuse to eat for a few hours before their appointments. This can prevent any unwanted accidents from taking place.
Be Honest With Your Dentist
Your dentist wants to help you as best as they can. You need to help them help you by telling them about any struggles that you’re having.
Yes, these can be embarrassing to admit sometimes, but it’s better if you admit them. You will get the exact help that you need straight away.
Dental Fears
Don’t worry! Dentists often deal with nervous patients. And they know how to deal with them.
Let the dentist know if you have appointment jitters. They will adjust their procedures to your needs. They’ll act calmly and gently to perform their tasks.
Oral Care
Yes, you need to be honest about how you’re approaching your oral care as well. If you keep a bad habit secret, things are only going to get worse. You need to tell your dentist how often you’re brushing, flossing, etc.
Your oral habits probably aren’t as bad as you may think. In all likelihood, dentists have experienced cases that are far worse than yours.
You’ll Love Our Articles
Your dentist is there to help you, but you also need to help your dentist. Give them everything they need and your dental visit should go swimmingly.
Now that we’ve closed the book on that bit of advice, are you interested in getting some more? Our site is full of articles that are stuffed with a ton of interesting facts. We’ve got articles about health, home, technology, and more.
