Nervous patients
Anxious about the dentist? You’re in the right place.
Maybe it was a rough appointment years ago. Maybe it’s the sounds, the smells, the feeling of not being in control. Maybe you’ve stayed away so long you’re embarrassed about what I might find — and the longer it’s been, the harder it’s become to pick up the phone.
None of that makes you unusual. Around half the people who sit in my chair would rather be almost anywhere else, and some of my favourite patients arrived shaking. You don’t need to apologise, explain yourself, or somehow be braver. You just need a dentist who’ll go at your speed — and that part is my job, not yours.
Your first visit
What a first visit with me looks like
For most people, the fear of the unknown is half the fear. So here's exactly what will happen — no surprises, nothing sprung on you.
We just talk first
Your first appointment happens in a consultation room, not the chair. We chat about what's worried you, what you'd like to change, and what's realistic. Nothing happens on day one unless you want it to — some patients don't open their mouth at all, and that's completely fine.
You set the pace
There's no conveyor belt here. If you'd rather split your treatment into visits so short we only do one small thing at a time, that's exactly what we'll do. Some patients book an appointment just to sit in the chair and leave again. That counts as progress, and I mean that.
A stop signal
Before anything starts, we agree a hand signal. Raise it and everything stops — immediately, every time, no questions asked. Most people never end up using it. Knowing you can is what changes everything.
No lectures
Whatever state your teeth are in, you will not get a telling-off from me. You already know — you don't need it said out loud. What you'll get instead is a calm, honest plan, and my genuine respect for showing up at all.
Sedation
Sedation, in plain English
First, the honest bit: sedation isn’t being “knocked out”. That’s a general anaesthetic, and it belongs in a hospital. What I offer is conscious sedation — you stay awake and able to respond, but deeply, genuinely relaxed. For most nervous patients it’s the difference between dreading treatment and barely registering it.
IV sedation
A sedative given through a small cannula in the back of your hand. Within a couple of minutes you feel warm, heavy and profoundly calm — the appointment seems to drift past, and most people remember little or nothing of it afterwards. You’ll need someone to take you home, and a quiet sofa for the rest of the day.
Inhalation sedation (“happy air”)
A gentle mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen breathed through a soft nosepiece. It takes the edge off within minutes — floaty, calm, a little giggly for some — and wears off within minutes of the nosepiece coming off, so you can get on with your day as normal.
With any treatment
Sedation isn't reserved for big surgery. If a check-up and clean is what it takes to get you here comfortably, we'll sedate for that.
Monitored throughout
I'm trained in sedation, and while you're sedated your oxygen levels, heart rate and blood pressure are monitored continuously. You're never just left to it.
Always your choice
It suits people with severe anxiety, a strong gag reflex, or a lot of treatment they'd rather do in one calm visit. We decide together at your consultation — it's an option, never a default.
The zero-pressure first step
Meet me from your sofa first
If even walking into a dental practice feels like too much right now, don’t. My free video consultation means you can meet me from your own sofa — no chair, no clinic smell, nobody looking in your mouth. We just talk: what’s worried you, what’s possible, roughly what it would cost.
And if it doesn’t feel right, you close the laptop and that’s the end of it — no follow-up calls, no pressure, no obligation. A lot of my most nervous patients started exactly here.
Free, and you can leave whenever you like.
FAQs
You’re probably wondering…
The things nervous patients actually ask me — answered honestly.
Will you judge the state of my teeth?
No — and I promise that's not a line. I've seen everything, and the state of someone's teeth usually says more about their past experiences with dentists than it does about them. When I look in your mouth I'm not thinking “how did it get like this?” — I'm thinking “right, where do we start?” Whatever's in there, it's fixable.
Can I bring someone with me?
Please do. A partner, a friend, your mum — whoever makes you feel steadier. They can sit with you for the consultation, and for most appointments they're welcome in the treatment room too. Some patients find it easier to let someone else do the talking at first. That's absolutely fine.
Does sedation knock me out?
No — and I'd be wary of anywhere that tells you it does. This is conscious sedation: you're awake, breathing for yourself and able to respond to me, but deeply relaxed. With IV sedation most people remember almost nothing afterwards, which for many is exactly the point. Being fully “knocked out” is a general anaesthetic, and that belongs in a hospital.
What if I panic mid-appointment?
Then we stop. The hand signal isn't a token gesture — it works every single time you use it. We pause, sit you up, take a breather, and only carry on when — and if — you're ready. Nobody has ever been made to finish an appointment in my chair, and you won't be the first.
I haven't seen a dentist in over ten years. Is it too late?
It's never too late, and you wouldn't hold my record for the longest gap — not even close. The first visit is just a look and a chat, and teeth are remarkably fixable, whatever's happened in the meantime. The hardest appointment is the first one. After that, it genuinely gets easier.
Not sure where to start? Let’s just talk.
Free, no-pressure video consultation — from your sofa.