DENTAL ANXIETY - DENTAL PHOBIA - IS REAL AND AT SMILES4OREGON, THE EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD DENTAL PRACTICE OF DR. JOHN K. SULLIVAN, DDS, WE KNOW IT.
... at Smiles4Oregon, we treat you like family ...
SERIOUSLY. WE GET IT. WE GOT YOU.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS.
Unlike most dental professionals, we don't take "dental phobia" personally. We actually do GET IT. You're not wrong andyou're not an idiot. There's nothing strange about hating going to the dentist. And no, we don't "cater to cowards" because you are not a coward and we would never treat you as such. In fact, the fact that you're reading this right now is testament to how very, truly, brave you are.
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The stories you tell us make two things about dental anxiety very clear: 1) it's real. As real as claustrophobia or arachnophobia. It may vary for each individual from general anxiety in most to full on panic attacks in some, but it's real and for us it's not a laughing matter. Or something to shame you over. We don't brush it off and we don't ever think there's something wrong with you because 2) it's deserved. Thankfully over the decades the dental profession as a whole has generally evolved, but there was a time when pain was expected and delivered. "Torture" from needles and drills was commonplace and - especially for extremely vulnerable children who also were held down against their will or "punished" if they made a fuss - the experience of visiting a dental office was not just excrutiating, it was terrifying. And in some sad cases, those experiences are still happening. It breaks our hearts.
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WE TREAT YOU LIKE FAMILY.
Both Dr. John Sullivan and his wife Nancy Lashley have worked in the dental profession for their entire careers - with almost 50 years between them and with a dedication to always doing the right thing. Since he began practicing in 1984, approximately ten thousand patients have given Dr. Sullivan a 98.8% approval rating, and since 2003 hundreds of world-class dentists chose to work with Nancy. As part of her work with her clients, she tackled the issue of dental anxiety full on, forcing her already exceptional clients to take it seriously. And they did, assuaging their patients' terror and winning them over to wholistic oral health.
Since opening Smiles4Oregon we have worked with dozens of fearful patients. And even after all our experience we have been astounded to find that it seems to take only one visit to our Springfield practice for our anxious - even physically fearful - patients to relax and find the bravery to trust us. We've never seen such a dramatic response, even after working with the best dental practices in the world on this same issue, so we feel confident that we're onto something.
By treating our patients like REAL PEOPLE instead of shaming them like unruly children we've been able to unwind decades of embarassing anxiety, allowing us to treat our patients like family and our patients to finally get their smiles back.