How anxious do you get at the dentist?
Five questions from the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Imagine each situation and pick how you would feel. There are no wrong answers.
Your plan
Built from your answers. Start at the bottom of the ladder, with the easiest step. Repeat a step until it feels noticeably easier, then move up one. Go at your own pace.
Tools for the chair
Use these in the waiting room or during treatment. Agree on a stop signal with your dentist first, so you know you can pause.
Breathe at six breaths a minute
In through your nose for 4 seconds, out slowly for 6. That is 6 breaths a minute, inside the slow-breathing range (under 10 a minute) studied in the review cited in the Evidence tab. If it feels like too much, breathe normally; the rhythm is a guide, not a test.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 in the chair
When your mind runs ahead, bring your attention back to the room. You can do this with your eyes open while the dentist works.
What happens next
The unknown is often the scariest part. Here is what usually happens at three common visits. Every office and every mouth is different; your dentist will tell you what applies to you.
The evidence
Every paper below was checked on PubMed, and every number is taken from its abstract. Study titles are shown in their original English.