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Holistic dentists can help if you're feeling nervous about visiting.

What to Do if You’re Nervous About Visiting the Dentist

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It’s completely normal to feel a little nervous about an upcoming dentist appointment or procedure. However, anxiety can make your experience incredibly stressful. Fortunately, there are several ways we can help you relieve stress and make your visit as smooth as possible. From sedation dentistry to other tactics for natural stress relief, here’s how you can handle dental anxiety.

Ready to schedule a stress-free appointment? Call us today.

Addressing Dental Anxiety Is Important

Some people may feel little to no nervousness going into a dentist visit. Others may have difficulty even preparing for regular check-ups. Fear of pain or loss of control, a bad experience at the dentist as a child, and feeling self-conscious or embarrassed can all lead to dental anxiety. These feelings may even cause you to push back preventive care or the treatment you need to maintain a healthy mouth.

However, avoiding routine appointments can have severe effects on your oral health:

  • Tooth Decay: An important part of a dental cleaning is removing plaque from the teeth to prevent tooth decay. Missing dental appointments allows tartar and gingivitis to build up, creating even more significant problems, such as cavities, down the road. Severe decay can also lead to a root canal infection, which may require extraction.
  • Gum Disease: Gum disease is caused by plaque buildup along the gumline. When left undetected, the infection can damage gum tissues and surrounding structures of the mouth. With time, this can cause deterioration of the jawbone and widespread tooth loss.
  • Bad Breath and Yellow Teeth: Routine dental appointments help keep your whole mouth healthy. Stains can settle on your teeth due to your diet or bad dental habits, but a deep cleaning from a hygienist can help remove surface stains before they settle into the tooth.
  • Oral Cancer: The main way oral cancer is detected is during a routine dental appointment. During the examination phase, the dentist looks for any abnormalities, such as abscess or discolored patch, and can take tissue samples to catch any cancer early on.

How Sedation Dentistry Can Help

When anxiety gets in the way of your dental care, start a conversation with your holistic dentist about sedation dentistry. When performed by a trained professional, like our certified registered nurse anesthetist, sedation dentistry is safe and a suitable method for improving your dental care experience. This service can certainly be offered for dental surgeries and more invasive procedures. However, we can also use it for regular appointments and exams if necessary.

There are different levels of sedation that have varying effects. Local sedation is used to numb a particular area of the mouth and does not affect your consciousness during the procedure. For this type of sedation, medication is administered directly to the area that needs to be numbed.  Some options can help keep you calm and relaxed while still allowing you to stay awake.

General anesthesia causes you to lose consciousness for the entirety of the procedure. Our CRNA will insert a small IV needle to administer medication. The effects are almost immediate, calming your body and preventing pain. We’ll monitor your vitals, including your breathing, oxygen, heart rate, and blood pressure, the entire time.

Other Natural Stress Relief Options

There are several other all-natural options for stress relief that can help you ease nervousness:

  • Practice deep breathing and meditation
  • Consider taking natural stress-relief supplements and essential oils
  • Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and sugary foods
  • Listen to calming music prior to and during the appointment
  • Do some light exercise before the appointment to help clear your mind

Most importantly, make sure to discuss your dental anxiety with your dentist. It completely normal for you to feel nervous about your appointment, and we are here to ease the process for you!

Ready to take the first step? Contact our office today.

Holistic dentistry is perfect for families.

Holistic Dentists: Why We Do What We Do?

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The slogan on the homepage of our website says: “Where Healthy Living, Healthy Breathing, Healthy Sleeping, and Dentistry Meet.” Mandanas Dental was founded by Dr. Owen Mandanas, who practiced as a general dentist for 17 years before looking for a better approach. The sentence on our website sums it up perfectly.

Dentistry is about so much more than teeth – your oral health can impact every aspect of your well-being, which is why it’s important to treat each patient holistically.

Need an appointment? Click here to contact our team.

What is Holistic Dentistry?

That’s what holistic dentistry means, by the way. It’s a philosophy that acknowledges the impact the mouth has on whole-body health. The mouth affects the way we ingest food and drink, which is the fuel we need to survive and function at our best. It also affects the way we breathe, which brings our cells the oxygen they need to function. The mouth is also intrinsically linked to the quality of our sleep, because anatomical issues can cause serious problems like sleep apnea.

Holistic dentists are fully-qualified dentists. We can perform all the same check-ups and procedures as regular dentists, such as general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, dentures, dental implants, orthodontics, and even sedation dentistry (you can view our services page to learn more).

However, they take it a step further than just improving your smile and filling your cavities. For Dr. Mandanas, it began by successfully helping people correct sleep disorders with dental appliances. It started a journey of further education that means she now sees herself as being part of a patient’s health care team instead of just stepping in and out as their tooth doctor.

Through this lens, holistic dentists can also advise you on the link between oral health and things such as gut health, high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain or weight loss, and more.

Finding a Holistic Dentist in Anchorage

Dr. Mandanas was born in the Philippines but grew up in South Carolina. She completed her undergraduate education in English at Goucher College in Maryland before going to study dentistry at Northwestern University in Illinois. She has two decades of experience and is a self-described “dental geek,” who still love studying her craft. When she moved to Alaska, she spent time serving the Native Alaska community in Nome, before settling in Anchorage with her husband and two sons.

She’s affiliated with a number of key organizations, such as the American Academic of Dental Sleep Medicine, Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorder Disciplines, American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry, and International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. She’s also a member of the Holistic Dental Association, American Dental Association, and Alaska Dental Society.

Her main interest is in sleep breathing disorders and she loves studying craniofacial anatomy. In other words, she’s the person to see if you’re having trouble with things like snoring, difficulty breathing at night, and sleep apnea. She’ll talk to you about your symptoms, figure out exactly why you’re experiencing them, and discuss a range of treatment options with you.

What is the Future for Holistic Dentistry?

Holistic dentistry is constantly evolving. Like Dr. Mandanas, most practitioners are – well, we already know they’re geeks – and they’re always combing through new research to find better ways of doing things. Here at Mandanas Dental, the team is committed to having an open mind and considering natural, evidence-based approaches to oral health as well as traditional methods. That way, we can be sure to find the best option to suit each patient, based on their personal circumstances.

Holistic dentistry is known by a lot of names, including integrative dentistry, progressive dentistry, and biocompatible dentistry. It’s an evolution in dental practice that will help you achieve optimal health through a personalized treatment plan that favors natural treatments where possible. We believe it leads to the best possible patient outcomes – and as such, it’s the future of dentistry.

Ready to try holistic dentistry for yourself? Schedule an appointment today.