Thinking About Your Dental Visits

RETURN resources were used by NHS dental practices to support having conversations with patients about how they felt about visiting the dentist.

Annette, a dental practice owner, and Ben a nurse at the practice talk about their experience of how it worked.

You can access all the resources below here and work through it in your own time.

Before you explore the RETURN resources, take a moment to think about your own experiences with dental visiting.

Questions to ask yourself:

  • How has visiting a dentist been for you in the past?
  • What worries or concerns do you have about visiting a dentist?
  • What usually stops you from visiting a dentist for check-ups?

There are many reasons why people don’t go for regular dental visits and people often have more than one.

Here is an example of a conversation where someone talks about why they don’t visit the dentist regularly.

Select the barrier that you think is most relevant to you right now. 

Once you select this, you will be taken to the RETURN resources where you can watch a video and read some short booklets about the barrier you select.

You might have more than one barrier, that’s completely normal. Come back and look at more if you need to.

If you wish to order a hard copy of the RETURN materials, please email Rebecca Harris on harrisrv@liverpool.ac.uk

Cost

I can’t afford to go to a dentist

Time

I haven’t got time to get to a dentist

I don't think to go when I'm not in pain

It's fine to leave things until I have a problem

I don't have trust in dentists

I’ve had a bad experience in the past

Embarrassment

I feel embarrassed to show a dentist the state of my teeth

Anxiety

I feel anxious about having dental treatment
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