What Should I Wear to the Dentist?
Going to the dentist can be a scary experience, so you’re forgiven for not giving your outfit much thought when getting ready for your appointment. In addition, there are no exact dress codes in dental practices, so you can wear pretty much whatever you want. However, your experience might vary drastically depending on what you’re wearing. Well, that can go to ways: it might make your appointment way more comfortable or turn it into a nightmare. Here’s what to wear to the dentist to avoid any uncomfortable scenarios!
Before we start: if you’re looking for a local dentist in Mt Prospect IL, visit this site to book your next check-up and find answers to any questions you might have!
Why Does It Matter What I Wear to the Dentist?
Perhaps needless to say, it can get pretty messy during a dental check-up — pretty fast. That’s hardly surprising considering how many dental products are just liquid that tends to splatter and spill all over the place. If any of them lands on your brand new shirt or your pants that you bought specifically for some important meeting, well, you’ll have more things to worry about than just your tooth.
You might be thinking: but the dentist always puts a bib on me whenever they are doing something! That is certainly true, but those bibs cover only your neck and the upper part of the torso, which is hardly enough protection from all the potential hazards. All the spillage can even go right through the bib, as it’s rather thin, almost like a napkin.
What to Wear?
So, what do you do? You wear comfortable clothes that you don’t really care about that much. You want to feel relaxed and unimpeded while the dentist is poking around your mouth, and you don’t want to worry about your clothes getting dirty or, even worse, damaged. Naturally, the dentist will do their best to avoid messing your clothes up, no matter what, but still — it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The being relaxed part might be more important, though, especially if you know you’re gonna spend a lot of time in the office. Some procedures take hours, so you want to do everything you can to make that time as bearable as possible.
In short, you should wear the following or similar clothes:
- Old shirts
- Hoodies
- Sweatshirts
- Soft pants, preferably something elastic, like sweatpants
You should not wear:
- Expensive suits (or suits in general)
- Formal clothing
- The clothing you wear when going out
In addition, make sure you’re wearing something you can easily take off (if you can). That is, it’s much better to wear a T-Shirt and a light hoodie than just one winter hoodie since the latter won’t give you any freedom to make yourself more comfortable if it gets too hot in the office.
What Kind of Mess Can You Expect on Your Clothes?
As we’ve said, you’re never completely immune to dirt, ooze, and spillage when on the dentist’s chair. So, it’s very likely you’ll have to do some cleaning once you come home. But what kind of mess can you expect?
Water and Splatter
There’s a lot of water getting spilled and sprayed even during a regular dental check-up. There’s the air syringe, those loud dental drills, the prophy jet (that polishing thing that sprays water), etc. At the end of the check-up, the dentist is going to use some polishing paste and a quickly-rotating rubber tool to clean your teeth, which can get pretty messy sometimes (although rarely, since it sticks to the teeth quite well).
Dripping Products
Some products (e.g., tooth conditioners, fluoride, hemostatic agents, etc.) require the dentist to bring a bottle or an eprouvette to your mouth and drip the contents onto your teeth. Needless to say, some of it may spill by accident and land on your clothes. If you’re worried about that, well, you’re worried for a reason since a lot of chemicals are rather difficult to scrub off and may leave permanent marks on your garments.
Some Uncommon Agents
Regular check-ups are not the only reason we visit our dentist. There are also more complicated and rarer procedures that are sometimes necessary. For example, you might need retainers, which require a dental impression for the dentist to work with (i.e., you need to leave them a mold of your teeth). The materials used for capturing teeth molds are sticky and gooey, and although they solidify rather quickly, they can easily slip onto your clothes. If that happens, you can say goodbye to them, as these agents are almost universally impossible to clean.
FAQs
What to Do If You Have to Go Somewhere and Need to Dress Properly?
If you need to dress for the occasion but have an appointment booked, you can either cancel it or bring a change of clothes with you.
What Else Should I Bring to the Dentist?
In addition to comfortable clothing, you can bring some accessories that will make your stay more comfortable. For example, you can bring lip balm to prevent your lips from drying during the procedure.
What Should I Leave at Home?
It is generally advisable to leave things like jewelry at home. The same goes for watches and other things that can irritate you, such as piercings (especially those near the mouth, which you should remove before the appointment).
What Are the Dress Codes Like in a Dental Office Mount Prospect IL?
The dress codes are universally the same nationwide. It usually doesn’t matter where you are and who your dentist is. The advice we’ve given thus far should get you through any appointment. Of course, you can and should always contact your dentist of choice if you have any questions regarding what you should and should not be wearing or carrying on you during the appointment.
