Rustington dental surgery joins forces with charity to tackle dental anxiety
The members of a dental team from Rustington have joined forces with a charity to tackle severe dental anxiety, a condition that affects around 10 percent of the population.
The team from the Centre for Dentistry, which is located in Sainsbury’s Rustington branch, has teamed up with Anxiety UK to raise awareness of crippling dental anxiety and help those affected by dental phobia.
Jackie Gallon, 57, is just one of the patients the practice is trying to help. Jackie has suffered from extreme anxiety since she had a negative experience at the age of just 7 years old. She woke up one night with severe toothache and was taken to a surgery in the middle of the night where she had a tooth yanked out. The experience has made Jackie apprehensive about going to the dentist and sparked panic attacks. She rarely goes to the surgery and only sees a dentist when she’s in severe pain. The aim of working with charities like Anxiety UK is to help patients like Jackie overcome their fears and to make the dental surgery a less daunting place for nervous patients. With the help of her partner, Jackie took the first steps towards conquering her anxiety and got in touch with the Centre for Dentistry and the team is now helping and supporting her.
Practice manager, Debra Bainbridge, said that the centre adopts a holistic approach and the aim is to try and make patients feel calm and relaxed.
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