Important Questions To Ask Your Dentist
Has it been a while since your last dental appointment? Are you feeling nervous about your upcoming dental exam? Having a list of questions already made up to ask your dentist may help with some of your anxiety. Instead of being put on the spot in the dental office, you'll feel more at ease when you already know what to say. Here are some questions you might want to ask during your next visit:
Is it okay to wear headphones? If your dentist needs to ask you questions during your examination, he or she might not want you to wear headphones. Otherwise, listening to your favorite music or even an especially interesting audio book can help to block out the sounds of the dental office. Blocking out the sound of the drill or other equipment may help to lower your stress levels as well, which can increase your pain tolerance. As a result, you may need less anesthetic in your mouth and you could feel less pain from the treatment overall, even after you leave the office.
Can we set up hand signals? Hand signals can be a great way to ask your dentist how much longer something like drilling will last or to ask him or her to stop for a moment. Although setting up a series of prearranged hand signals may seem ridiculous at first, they'll be much less ridiculous if you actually feel the need to use them.
Would it be possible to spread out the treatments? It can feel very overwhelming when your dentist finds multiple things that need to be treated in your mouth. He or she may, at first, insist that everything needs to be done at once. While that may be a good idea in theory, you may not want to subject yourself to that much dental work at once, or it could be that you can't afford that much work done so close together. Whatever your reason, simply ask your dentist what the most important would be and start with that. From there, you can continue with the various treatments until your mouth is once again in top condition.
Is there anything I should mention at my next doctor's appointment? If you currently have an abscess, you could be at risk for heart palpitations, congestive heart failure or other health conditions. Your dentist should be aware of the various risk factors that are brought about by your mouth's condition and will be able to tell you what you should ask your doctor about during your next physical. For more information about local dentists, look at sites like http://www.childrensdent.com.
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