Encinitas, CA (PressExposure) September 30, 2010 -- An Encinitas dental practice has discovered solutions to the ever-present problem of the gripping fear associated with going to the dentist. Much of it is in controlling what it seen. "We've found that fear of the dentist is heightened when the patients see the instruments that could potentially be used on them," says Dr. Henninger, a dentist at the Encinitas dental practice of Encinitas Dental Art. We're one Encinitas dental practice that has adapted our office to accommodate that."
So just where are the instruments? "They are all as hidden as we can make them with cabinetry, and all of them exist below waist-level. So when they are sitting in the dentist's chair, they simply can't get a view of them," adds the doctor. "You can't believe what a difference that makes."
"Back when I first started in the early '80s," adds Dr. Coffey, owner of Encinitas Dental Art who has had his own Encinitas dental practice since 1984, "all the instrumentation was freely displayed and waiting for the patients as they walked into the room. After that initial impression, there was no winning them over. They had so much fear running through their bodies that nothing you could say or do was going to get them to relax. Eliminating the instruments from sight has meant everything, whether patients are coming for dental implants, a dental emergency or even laser whitening."
"But that's not everything we've done," offers Sasha Biven, a member of Dr. Coffey's staff for 20 years. "We've also removed the small windows in each room and replaced them with large, grand windows so there is plenty to look at. Give them something beautiful to look at and it will help them to forget they are at an Encinitas dental office." "Of course in the end, there is really nothing to fear," adds Dr. Henninger. "We offer a brand of dentistry that is completely or virtually pain-free."