I'm nervous about the dentist — what can you do for me?
Tell us before you arrive and we plan the visit differently: a longer appointment, no treatment on day one, a stop signal you control, and everything explained before it happens. Dental anxiety is extremely common and it isn't something we judge.
What we change for anxious patients
- A longer first appointment with no treatment — just a conversation and, when you're ready, a look.
- An agreed stop signal. Raise your hand and everything stops, immediately.
- Tell-show-do: nothing happens until you know what it is and what it will feel like.
- Appointments at quieter times of day where possible.
- Treatment broken into shorter visits rather than one long one.
- Bring someone with you, and bring headphones if music helps.
If it's been years
That's more common than you'd think, and it changes nothing about how you'll be treated. We start where you are, deal with anything urgent, and build a plan you can cope with. Nobody here is going to lecture you.
Visiting us: your questions on this topic
Do you offer sedation?
Sedation is excluded from NHS treatment. Private sedation may be available depending on the clinician and treatment planned, so please discuss the options directly with the practice.
Can I just come and look around first?
Yes. A no-treatment familiarisation visit is genuinely fine and often the best first step.
Will I be told off for the state of my teeth?
No. We're interested in what happens next, not in blame.
What if I need to stop mid-treatment?
Then we stop. You keep control of the appointment throughout.
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