What’s It Like Wearing Earmuffs at the Dentist?

[Karl28]

I haven't been to the dentist in ages but back in the day I used to wear earplugs and when they did that ultrasonic scaler thing it would sound so loud and intense because of the earplugs and the muffled effect inside my head.

Is it as bad with earmuffs?

 

[Digital Doc]

I have not worn ear plugs, nor ear muffs at the dentist. Both will give you an occlusion effect, as the sound gets trapped inside, so neither is a good plan. The occlusion effect should be a little less pronounced theoretically as there is more space for the sound to dissipate to.

The better plan is to you a noise cancelling headphone that can cancel out the noise of the drill at the dentist. I think dentists should offer this to their patients more and have it available.

I went to the dentist a few months ago, and had a tooth filling with drilling, and my T did not spike. I think the drill was a quieter model.

 

[Juan]

I haven't been to the dentist in ages but back in the day I used to wear earplugs and when they did that ultrasonic scaler thing it would sound so loud and intense because of the earplugs and the muffled effect inside my head.

Is it as bad with earmuffs?

I havent tried that but my feeling is you will hear sound through bone conduction.. a lot. Maybe worse than without earmuffs.

 

[Tex]

They use a manual scaler on me now. Try requesting that.

 

[MattS]

I haven't been to the dentist in ages but back in the day I used to wear earplugs and when they did that ultrasonic scaler thing it would sound so loud and intense because of the earplugs and the muffled effect inside my head.

Is it as bad with earmuffs?

I just went to the dentist, and specifically asked that they not use the ultrasonic scaler. My hygienist was happy to oblige, and just worked on me manually. No problems.

 

[Michael B]

I have an upcoming dental appointment and my dentist actually provides noise cancelling headphones. While I don't use headphones/earphones any longer, I suspect I will use them this week.