What fear affects more adults than children? You guessed it – dentophobia. Hopping in that dental chair and being asked about your day while metal tools prod at your mouth.

According to a study by the University of Adelaide, dental anxiety affects one in six Australian adults and approximately one in ten Aussie kids.

Four months ago, Dr Disha Kamath Naik – a dentist treasured by Woden locals for the past five years – opened her own practice specialising in what she calls “the most neglected group when it comes to dental care”: People who are scared of dentists.

Upon entering Deakin Dental Care, which is tucked in an arcade that sits in a cul-de-sac of local medical practices, you are greeted by warm, clean light radiating from the stylised ‘D’ that marks the spot.

Everything about the practice is designed to relieve discomfort and help you feel more at ease.

“We have a lot of nervous patients who find it difficult to even walk through the door. Then they see Fran’s friendly face at the front, and they already feel a lot more comfortable,” says Dr Disha.

In recent years, Dr Disha has worked with anxious and/or nervous patients in Woden, refocusing her training on what technologies and approaches can best help them.

“Unfortunately, dentistry in the past has been quite abrasive, so now there is a large portion of the population who have teeth breaking down.

“I want to improve your quality of life as you age. You can enjoy your steak at the end of the day if you take care of your teeth.

“A lot of people believe that dental care isn’t required until they start losing teeth. That’s when they realise all the restrictions that come with that and start regretting the choices they made.

“We’re here to try and improve that. Deakin Dental Care is what the name suggests,” says Dr Disha. “It’s about care.”

She has been a dentist for nearly 14 years, since moving to Australia in 2009.

Originally drawn to dentistry by the smiles she would get at the end of the day from happy patients, she was driven to study dental implantology at Charles Sturt University after seeing how much implants can improve a patient’s quality of life. 

“I’m extensively trained in implant dentistry, because I want to be there to replace their teeth, so they can literally enjoy the fruit of that labour,” she smiles.  

Deakin Dental Care offers a full spectrum of care, ranging from a general clean, to root canals, crowns, implants, and wisdom teeth extraction.

“We prioritise being able to do everything so that our patients don’t have to do much running around … We try and reduce anything that causes stress.”

Dr Disha is always studying what’s new in dentistry, to better help her patients. Particularly for her anxious/nervous patients, intravenous (IV) sedation will soon be offered at the practice. Meanwhile, she is accredited to treat patients under General Anaesthetic (GA).

“So that we can cater to patients who have been avoiding treatment because they don’t know how to handle it,” she says.

This will be the most recent addition to the practice’s technological repertoire, which already includes digital scanning to make the process of dental impressions easier and more comfortable.

“Patients don’t have to put any material in their mouth and bite down and hold for five minutes, which can be quite difficult to tolerate by kids. For patients with a very sensitive gag reflex, that can make them feel a bit claustrophobic.

“Whereas with the scanner, it’s all digital. It minimises human error and only takes 30 seconds to scan the whole mouth.”

According to Dr Disha, another key aspect of putting her patients at ease is aftercare.

“Relieving pain and discomfort is what we’re all about. But also making it easy to look after your teeth once you walk out of the door.”

She says that over the 14 years she has been practicing, the most rewarding moment is when an anxious/nervous patient walks into her practice feeling at ease.

“They don’t tend to receive the kind of attention they need elsewhere, and it’s hard, because we all have been through a point in our life when we’ve been nervous to do something, and no one’s given us that push to take care of ourselves.

“It’s very rewarding when you see a patient for years and years, and all of a sudden, they walk in, they’re happy, they’re not nervous, and they know the routine.

“It makes it all worth it,” she smiles.

You can visit Dr Disha at Deakin Dental Care, Unit 1/8 Phipps Close, Deakin. Book an appointment at any time online at deakindentalcare.com.au or call 5114 3388 during business hours.