Dental Anxiety Guelph: Sunny Dental Centre

Sunny Dental Centre has cared after anxious patients in Guelph since the 1960s and has offered nurse assisted IV sedation for more than twenty years, so nervous patients are a large part of who we see. About one Canadian adult in seven is afraid of dental treatment. Here is what a visit can look like:

Sunny Dental Centre Approach

Your first visit can be a short consult and you are welcome to come by our office to meet our team
We are not here to judge. Our goal is to provide care for our patients
Raise your left hand and we stop. Every time.
Nitrous oxide in almost every room; IV sedation with a registered nurse on our sedation days.
Book online without a phone call and write "nervous" in the notes.
Fee guide for general dentists, direct billing, CDCP accepted.

Call 519-824-8250 Book online

Our Goal: Addressing the cycle

My father avoided the dentist for most of my childhood because he was embarrassed about his teeth and felt he was judged. Sunny Dental Centre Anxiety is a symptom, and in our experience it comes from something that happened: a bad appointment as a child, not getting numb, a needle, a strong gag reflex, or shame about the teeth. Fear leads to avoidance, avoidance means problems are found late and treated in a hurry, and that makes the fear worse. Our job is to interrupt that cycle, not to comment on how long it has been. Whatever state your teeth are in, we have seen it before. We ask what the fear is about, we use a short questionnaire to measure it, and we plan around the answer, starting with the easiest thing.

Our story at Sunny Dental Centre

The office began in the mid-1960s, when Dr. Sharp and Dr. Mysner built a family dental practice inside a house on Riverview Drive. It has stayed family owned since, and we have metaphorically worked to build a home for our patients and staff. Sedation has been here for more than twenty years, introduced by Dr. Spencer, continued by Dr. Ying Sun, and provided since by Dr. Mandip Puri, in the same rooms with the same nurse. Dixie, our registered nurse.

The rest of the team has stayed as long. Lori and Lana answer the phone and have been here for more than seventeen and twenty-five years. Kim and Errin, our hygienists, have more than thirty and twenty years in the profession. Poliana, our assistant, was a dentist before she chose to assist. The person who remembers that you hate the sound of the suction is the same person next time. If you are unsure about us, come and take a look, ask for a tour, and meet the team before anything is booked.

The Sunny Dental Centre team together — the same familiar faces at every visit — The Sunny Dental Centre team — the same familiar faces at every visit.

Your first visit

It does not have to be clinical. Many anxious patients come in first just to talk: twenty minutes, sitting up in the consultation room. Lori and Lana arrange this, and the transfer of records from a previous dentist.

When you are ready, the first appointment has four parts:

Intake forms and the anxiety questionnaire such as the MIDAS scale.
An assessment of sources and triggers of anxiety. How to address them and ensure a comfortable experience.
A clinical exam with diagnostic records such as radiographs, digital scans and periodontal assessments
A treatment plan with priorities set together. Estimates submitted to insurance if applicable.

Dentists do not all plan the same way, and a plan changes as your mouth and priorities change; this is normal. We find it is helpful to start with something small and develop comfortability and confidence in the dental chair.

An example of how it might go

A patient books online or calls our admin team : "Haven't been in 12 years. Very nervous. Afraid of needles." Lori and/or Lana will book a new patient or consult appt where we will have sufficient time to ensure we can address your dental anxiety and concerns.

Visit one, 30 minute Consult. At the consultation our goal is to understand what is your primary concern and limiting you from receiving care. Let's say the fear turns out to be specific. For example a filling in the past where the freezing did not work. In this case we may; plan to identify why profound anesthesia could not be achieved, consider what types of anesthetics may work best in these situations, buffering of anesthetic, provide ample time, and consider the use of specific sedation modalities.

Visit two, 60 minutes. Complete clinical exam, records such as x-rays, photographs, digital scans, and fabrication of a treatment plan based upon individual goals of care. Regardless of the individual treatment, the plan is written out with codes and a predetermination goes to her insurer if applicable.

We then figure out criteria for success and how to maintain oral health instead of providing emergency treatment.

Visit three, 50 minutes. An example of a third appointment may be a routine cleaning and assessment of gum health with various measures to help manage anxiety such as local anesthetic, headphones, music, and a weighted blanket.

Visit four: Additional appointments may include items which were originally planned and based upon individual assessment as well as goals of care. We aim to separate the appointments based upon individual needs.

This example is a composite of how our visits run, not a particular patient. Your own sequence is planned with you at the first visit.

What we do in the chair

A 2024 review of what patients themselves said reduced their anxiety found three things: trusting the person, being told what is happening at the right pace, and having control. None of these needs equipment and we try to structure our appointments around them.

Procedural we work intentionally and slowly and always provide a stop signal. Lift your hand and we will stop.
Some individuals like to know what is happening and others don't. For those that do we keep them informed throughout the procedure.
Breaks when you want them, shorter visits if long ones are the problem.
Dental sedation if appropriate. Each of our clinic rooms is equipped with nitrous oxide sedation and we also offer IV and oral moderate sedation.
Someone can come in with you.
Televisions, headphones, dark glasses and weighted blankets in the rooms. They make the visit more comfortable.

Afraid of needles at the dentist

The most common specific fear we see, and technique can make a substantial diffference:

Topical gel, in enough quantity and left long enough to work.
A slow methodical delivery technique with the tissue relaxed rather than stretched.
Buffered anaesthetic to help with discomfort
The fine syringes and a vibrating device beside it for those it helps.
Nitrous oxide for the injection alone, where the above is not enough.

Strong gag reflex

Usually linked to anxiety, and it settles as people relax with us. Meanwhile: smaller X-ray sensors, a panoramic X-ray in place of some films, a digital scanner instead of putty impressions. For some patients sedation can help with a gag reflex and make treatment possible.

Sedation options in Guelph: how they compare

The options run from least to most involved. We start at the top and move down only as far as you need.

	In-chair support	Nitrous oxide	IV sedation	Referral for deeper sedation
What it is	Stop signal, tell-show-do, breaks, companion, comfort items	Minimal sedation, breathed through a small nose piece	Parenteral moderate sedation: midazolam through a cannula in the hand or arm, adjusted to you	Deep sedation or general anaesthesia by a dental anaesthesiologist, outside our office
What you feel	Awake, in control	Light, warm, a little floaty; awake	Drowsy and relaxed; conscious, breathing on your own; often little memory of it	Asleep
Freezing still used	Yes	Yes	Yes	Depends on the procedure
Fasting	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Someone to take you home	No	Case by case	Yes, an adult who stays with you	Yes
Rest of the day	Normal	Normal after a short rest	No driving, machinery, alcohol or big decisions for at least 24 hours	As directed
Who it suits	Most anxious patients	Mild to moderate anxiety, needle fear, gagging; needs a clear nose; not in early pregnancy	Significant anxiety, strong gag reflex, long or combined procedures; adults, assessed first	True phobia, children who cannot be treated awake, complex medical history
At Sunny Dental	Yes	Yes, in almost every room	Yes, on our sedation days, with a registered nurse monitoring	No; we refer

Sedation is one tool that dentists have available for treating those with dental anxiety. Whether sedation suits you is decided at an assessment; our sedation dentistry page has the details.

If you are in pain right now

Call. The first visit becomes an emergency visit focused on settling the pain.

Call 519-824-8250

Cost and booking

We bill at the Ontario Dental Association fee guide for general dentists, sedation included, and not above it. Direct insurance billing, the Canadian Dental Care Plan accepted, and a predetermination sent before major treatment. Please also check your own plan.

You can book straight into our schedule online, a real booking with a notes box. Write "nervous" in it and we plan extra time. Or call 519-824-8250 and ask for Lori or Lana.

Call 519-824-8250 Book online

Frequently asked questions

Questions people ask before they call

Can I stop in the middle of treatment?

Yes. A stop signal is agreed before anything starts and honoured every time.

Can someone come in with me?

Yes. A companion is welcome in the room.

Is nitrous oxide or IV sedation better for anxiety?

Nitrous oxide is enough for many of our patients; IV moderate sedation is the next step. Neither cures the anxiety. Which suits you is decided at an assessment.

Do you see anxious children?

Yes we do. However, we do not provide moderate sedation to children. They are referred if this is required.

Sources

What this page is based on

Chanpong B, Haas DA, Locker D. Need and demand for sedation or general anesthesia in dentistry: a national survey of the Canadian population. Anesth Prog. 2005;52(1):3-11.

Armfield JM, Stewart JF, Spencer AJ. The vicious cycle of dental fear: exploring the interplay between oral health, service utilization and dental fear. BMC Oral Health. 2007;7:1.

Geddis-Regan A, Fisal ABA, Bird J, Fleischmann I, Mac Giolla Phadraig C. Experiences of dental behaviour support techniques: a qualitative systematic review. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2024;52(5):660-676.

Eachempati P, Kumbargere Nagraj S, Kiran Kumar Krishanappa S, George RP, Soe HHK, Karanth L. Management of gag reflex for patients undergoing dental treatment. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;11:CD011116.

Malamed SF. Medical Emergencies in the Dental Office. 8th ed. Elsevier; 2022.

Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario. Standard of Practice: Use of Sedation and General Anesthesia in Dental Practice.

Sunny Dental Centre is a general dental practice. Dr. Mandip Puri, DDS, is registered with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario as a general practitioner, not a specialist. Complex cases are referred. This page is general information, not a substitute for an examination; individual responses vary.