Wearing headphones at the dentist

[Adamant67]

I’m 16 and i’ve gone through this conversation several times with my mom and i’m still very unsure if this is actually true.Im soon to be getting braces and next week i’m having 4 teeth taken out…I have really bad anxiety,especially at the dentist, is it true that wearing headphones blocks out the noise of the teeth being pulled? The only time i had ever had headphones on at the dentist was when i was 4 and lived in canada. I’m just really worried and i work myself up weeks before anything happens.So i’d really appreciate some feedback!

Yes it should work, even if it doesn't totally block sound it'll be a good distraction and should make it go faster. I would tell the dentist before that you're a bit nervous about it and want to wear headphones (you could email the surgery). Good luck :)

Headphones will likely help you relax but won't cover all sounds completely. Your dentist won't be phased.

Yes! I've done this for treatment on the dentist's advice and it's my new favourite tip. Really does help as a distraction; I favour loud, angry music, don't know if that's more helpful

I took my teenager to the dentist recently and the dentist was totally fine about earphones. Whatever gets you through it.

Do it! I always wear headphones at the dentist, it’s great! Completely distracting. Also I just want to say that you might find having teeth out isn’t too bad. I was surprised. It was pretty quick and totally painless. It’s much easier than a filling (although fillings also shouldn’t hurt). Wishing you all the best.

I find a podcast is a good distraction

I quite enjoyed having my teeth pulled out and I normally hate the dentist. Hopefully it won’t be too bad for you.

At my dentist there's a TV on the ceiling in each treatment room and they give you a headset to listen. It's set up so you can still hear them giving you instructions during treatment.

It can be a challenge if you're on nitrous oxide and watching something funny while they have whirring equipment in your mouth.

I did that in the 70s at my dentist's suggestion.

That’s a great idea, especially if the headphones happened to be noise cancelling!
Best of luck x

I agree. I would have a tooth pulled out over having one filled any day!

Yes I did this during root canal. I listened to podcasts which helped because I focused on that rather than the noise/pain.

I had a tooth out recently and was surprised how easy it was. I didn’t feel any pain at all, just a weird pulling sensation. Definitely wear head phones if it helps.