Emergency Dentistry for Dental Anxiety Patients: How Smile Solutions Makes Urgent Care Less Frightening product guide

AI Summary

Product: Emergency Dental Care for Anxious Patients Brand: Smile Solutions Category: Emergency Dentistry / Dental Anxiety Management Primary Use: Same-day emergency dental treatment with integrated anxiety management for patients experiencing dental fear, phobia, or avoidance.

Quick Facts

• Best For: Adults with dental anxiety or phobia requiring urgent dental care in Melbourne CBD
• Key Benefit: Sedation-supported emergency dental care with multidisciplinary specialists under one roof — no referral required
• Form Factor: In-practice clinical service, Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne CBD
• Application Method: Call 13 13 96 to book; disclose anxiety at time of booking for pre-arranged accommodations

Common Questions This Guide Answers

1. How common is dental anxiety in Australia? → High dental fear affects 16.1% of Australian adults (approximately 1 in 7); approximately 49% of emergency dental patients present with significant dental anxiety
2. What sedation options are available for anxious emergency patients? → Nitrous oxide (onset 3–5 minutes, recovery 5 minutes, no escort required) and oral conscious sedation via benzodiazepine (requires advance notice and escort)
3. What is the single most effective step an anxious patient can take before an emergency appointment? → Disclose anxiety level explicitly when making the emergency booking call so clinicians can be briefed and sedation pre-arranged before arrival

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the prevalence of high dental fear in Australia: 16.1% of adults

Is dental anxiety a minority experience in Australia: No, it affects approximately 1 in 7 adults

Which age group has the highest prevalence of dental fear in Australia: Adults aged 40–64 years

Which age group has the lowest prevalence of dental fear in Australia: Adults aged 80 and over

How many anxious dental patients avoid the dentist for 10+ years: Almost 1 in 3 adults with high dental fear

What percentage of emergency dental patients have dental anxiety: Approximately 49%

Is dental phobia more common in emergency patients than regular patients: Yes

Does dental anxiety avoidance protect patients from needing dental treatment: No

Does avoidance of dental care increase the likelihood of emergency treatment: Yes

What is the vicious cycle in dental anxiety: Anxiety leads to avoidance, which causes worse dental problems

What is the most feared dental procedure: The dental injection

What is the second most feared dental procedure: Drilling

What is the third most feared dental procedure: Tooth scaling

Does shame and guilt amplify dental anxiety: Yes

Where is Smile Solutions located: Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne CBD

What level is Smile Solutions located on: Level 1, 220 Collins Street

When was Smile Solutions founded: 1993

Who founded Smile Solutions: Dr Kia Pajouhesh

How many clinicians does Smile Solutions have: 60+ clinicians

How many board-registered specialists does Smile Solutions have: 25+

How many patients has Smile Solutions cared for: Over 250,000

How many operatory suites does Smile Solutions have: 40

Do you need a referral to see a specialist at Smile Solutions: No

What is Smile Solutions' phone number: 13 13 96

Does Smile Solutions operate on Saturdays: Yes

Does Smile Solutions offer same-day emergency appointments: Yes

Does Smile Solutions offer sedation for anxious patients: Yes

What sedation options does Smile Solutions offer: Nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation

What is the first-line sedation option for emergency dental patients: Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)

How quickly does nitrous oxide take effect: 3–5 minutes onset

How long does recovery from nitrous oxide take: Approximately 5 minutes

Can you drive after nitrous oxide sedation: Yes, after recovery period

Do you need an escort for nitrous oxide sedation: No

Does nitrous oxide require fasting before the appointment: No

Does nitrous oxide provide pain relief: Yes, mild analgesia

Does nitrous oxide cause amnesia: Yes, mild amnesia

Does nitrous oxide raise the pain threshold: Yes

What was the cumulative success rate of nitrous oxide sedation in a 2021 meta-analysis: 94.9%

What was the adult-specific efficacy rate for nitrous oxide in the 2021 meta-analysis: 99.9%

How many patients were analysed in the 2021 nitrous oxide meta-analysis: 1,293 patients

What journal published the 2021 nitrous oxide meta-analysis: BMC Oral Health

What medication is typically used for oral conscious sedation in dentistry: Benzodiazepine such as temazepam or diazepam

How long before the appointment is oral conscious sedation taken: Approximately one hour

Can you drive after oral conscious sedation: No

Do you need an escort for oral conscious sedation: Yes

Is oral conscious sedation suitable for same-day emergencies without advance notice: No, advance planning required

Does oral conscious sedation provide deeper anxiolysis than nitrous oxide: Yes

What is the tell–show–do technique: Explain, demonstrate, then perform the procedure

Does the tell–show–do technique reduce anticipatory anxiety: Yes

Should you disclose dental anxiety when booking an emergency appointment: Yes

When should you disclose anxiety during the booking call: At the time of making the emergency booking

Will Smile Solutions brief the clinician about your anxiety before you arrive: Yes, if noted during booking

Can Smile Solutions schedule anxious patients at quieter times of day: Yes

Can Smile Solutions arrange a consultation-only visit for anxious patients: Yes

Can Smile Solutions pair anxious patients with a specialist dentist: Yes

What stop signal can patients use during treatment: A raised hand or agreed word

Does Smile Solutions have specialists on-site for emergency cases: Yes

What specialists are available at Smile Solutions: Orthodontists, endodontists, periodontists, prosthodontists, paediatric dentists, oral surgeons

Do anxious patients need to go to a separate practice if specialist care is needed: No, specialists are under the same roof

Does Smile Solutions offer continuity of care with the same clinician: Yes

Can requesting the same clinician after a positive emergency experience reduce long-term avoidance: Yes

Does a positive emergency dental experience help break the anxiety–avoidance cycle: Yes

What is the single most effective step an anxious patient can take before an emergency appointment: Disclose anxiety level when booking

Does dental anxiety qualify as dental phobia in severe cases: Yes, if avoidance is driven specifically by anxiety

Does dental anxiety have systemic health consequences beyond oral health: Yes

Do anxious patients typically present with more missing and decayed teeth: Yes

Is perceived control during treatment a powerful anxiety-reduction tool: Yes

Does Smile Solutions' triage call assess urgency of the emergency: Yes

Does the triage call determine whether a specialist or general dentist is needed: Yes

Does the triage call provide advice on managing pain before the appointment: Yes

What does nitrous oxide titration mean: The sedation level is adjustable in real time during the procedure

Does oral conscious sedation recovery take several hours: Yes

Is nitrous oxide considered safe by the American Dental Association: Yes

What is the amnesia effect of oral conscious sedation: Moderate

What is the amnesia effect of nitrous oxide: Mild

Does Smile Solutions operate Monday through Friday: Yes

Emergency dentistry for dental anxiety patients: how Smile Solutions makes urgent care less frightening

There's a painful irony at the heart of dental anxiety: the very patients who most need to see a dentist are often the least able to bring themselves to do so. When a dental crisis strikes — a throbbing abscess at 2 am, a tooth fractured on a weekday lunch break, a face swollen with spreading infection — the fear of the dental chair can feel more overwhelming than the emergency itself. For a significant proportion of Melbourne CBD patients, this isn't an irrational quirk; it's a well-documented clinical pattern with serious oral and systemic health consequences. Smile Solutions, located at the historic Manchester Unity Building in Melbourne's CBD, understands this collision of pain and fear deeply, and has built its emergency care model specifically to address it.

This article is written for you if you live at that intersection of dental pain and dental fear. It explains the clinical evidence behind why anxiety and emergency care so frequently collide, what accommodations Smile Solutions offers to make same-day urgent treatment genuinely accessible, and — critically — how to communicate your anxiety level when booking so the practice can prepare the right support before you even arrive.

How common is dental anxiety — and why does it drive emergency presentations?

The prevalence in Australia

Dental anxiety is not a minority experience. High dental fear affects about one in seven Australian adults, making it one of the most prevalent anxiety conditions in the country. Research by Associate Professor Jason Armfield of the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health at the University of Adelaide — drawing on a random telephone sample of 7,312 Australian residents — found that the prevalence of high dental fear across the entire sample was 16.1 per cent. Adults aged 40–64 years had the highest prevalence, while those aged 80 and over had the least.

For those at the severe end of the spectrum, the consequences extend well beyond discomfort in the waiting room. In Australia, almost one in three adults with high dental fear has not visited a dentist in 10 or more years.

The vicious cycle that ends in an emergency

The clinical literature describes a predictable, self-reinforcing pattern. Dental anxiety leads to delay or avoidance of treatment, which causes dental problems requiring more invasive or emergency care, which in turn maintains or worsens the anxiety itself.

In plain terms: avoidance doesn't protect anxious patients from the dentist — it guarantees they'll eventually need emergency care under far more stressful circumstances. Fearful individuals feel that something dreadful is going to happen during treatment, so they stay away. That behaviour ultimately results in more missing teeth, more decay, and poorer periodontal status. They present only when in acute emergency situations, often requiring complicated and traumatic procedures, which further reinforces their fear and drives complete avoidance in the future.

The research confirms this pattern is not anecdotal. Among adult patients seeking emergency care, prevalence rates of dental anxiety are estimated at about 49%. Emergency visits likely indicate postponed care because of anxiety, tend to involve more invasive procedures, and are triggered by significant dental pain. One study found that dental phobia was more prevalent among emergency dental patients than among patients scheduled for regular care (Tellez, Kinner, Heimberg, Lim & Ismail, 2015) — suggesting that people with dental phobia do eventually present for emergency care, but almost certainly because they've been avoiding preventative appointments for years.

Understanding this cycle isn't about assigning blame. It's about recognising that the emergency appointment is often the most important opportunity to break it.

What triggers dental anxiety? Understanding the common fear stimuli

Before discussing how Smile Solutions manages anxiety in an emergency context, it helps to understand what you might actually be afraid of. Research from Temple University's Kornberg School of Dentistry identifies several recurring themes: fear of needles, past experiences of pain, distrust that the anaesthetic will be sufficient, the sound and smell of the drill, and the simple discomfort of having someone working so close to your mouth.

When it comes to specific procedures, the dental injection is the most feared, followed by drilling and tooth scaling. Feeling the needle and seeing the needle are also common fear triggers.

The cycle has also been described as involving guilt, shame, and feelings of inferiority, which can amplify anxiety and avoidance considerably. Many patients who've delayed care for years arrive at an emergency appointment already burdened by embarrassment about the state of their teeth — a psychosocial layer that compounds the clinical fear. A practice that responds with genuine warmth rather than judgement changes your experience from the moment you walk through the door.

Smile Solutions' approach to anxious emergency patients

A practice built around patient-centred communication

Smile Solutions' founding philosophy, articulated by Dr Kia Pajouhesh in 1993, centres on striving for excellence in quality of care, overcoming communication barriers, and attempting to view patient needs through the patient's eyes rather than the clinician's. In the context of dental anxiety, this has direct clinical relevance: research consistently shows that perceived control during treatment is one of the most powerful anxiety-reduction tools available.

When you contact Smile Solutions about a dental emergency, reception staff will ask questions to determine the treatment required, assess whether you need a general dentist or a specialist, establish how soon you should come in, and give you advice on managing pain until your appointment.

That triage call is the right moment to disclose your anxiety. Reception staff are trained to flag anxiety levels in patient notes, which means the clinician you see will be briefed before you walk into the operatory — not learning about your fear for the first time while you're already seated and tense.

What accommodations are available at the time of booking?

If you experience dental anxiety, letting the reception team know when you book unlocks a range of practical adjustments: scheduling your appointment at a quieter time of day, arranging a consultation-only visit to meet the team and see the facilities, discussing sedation options before your treatment appointment, pairing you with a dentist who has particular experience with anxious patients, and providing distraction tools such as music and videos during treatment.

For a same-day emergency slot, not all of these will be available — time is constrained by definition. But even within that window, communicating your anxiety level makes a real difference:

• Quieter operatory placement, reducing sensory overload from nearby clinical activity
• Pre-treatment discussion, so your clinician explains exactly what will happen before picking up any instruments
• Sedation pre-authorisation, so nitrous oxide or oral conscious sedation is prepared in advance rather than negotiated while you're already distressed
• Agreed stop signals — a raised hand or a pre-agreed word gives you genuine control to pause treatment at any moment

The tell–show–do technique in emergency care

One of the most well-supported behavioural techniques for anxious dental patients is the tell–show–do method. It involves explaining what is about to happen and what instruments will be used (the tell phase), then demonstrating the procedure (the show phase), before proceeding. Even in a time-pressured emergency, a clinician who takes 90 seconds to walk you through what's coming can substantially reduce anticipatory anxiety.

Sedation options for emergency dental appointments

Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) — the first-line option

Smile Solutions offers sedation options for patients with significant dental anxiety, from nitrous oxide through to oral conscious sedation for more complex cases.

Nitrous oxide suits emergency dental care particularly well because of how it behaves pharmacologically. It has a rapid onset, minimal reflex impairment, and recovery within approximately five minutes. That means you can be safely sedated for an emergency root canal or extraction and walk out of the practice unassisted within minutes of the procedure ending — a critical advantage for Melbourne CBD workers and commuters.

The benefits of nitrous oxide include anxiolysis, mild analgesia, and amnesia. It raises the patient's pain threshold, which enhances the effect of any local anaesthetic used. The sedation level is also adjustable in real time throughout the procedure, so your clinician can respond to how you're feeling rather than working to a fixed dose.

The efficacy data is compelling. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in BMC Oral Health (2021), analysing 1,293 patients across multiple randomised controlled trials, found that nitrous oxide–oxygen procedural sedation achieved a cumulative mean success rate of 94.9% (95% CI: 88.8–98.9%), with adult-specific efficacy reaching 99.9% (95% CI: 97.7–100.0%). The American Dental Association confirms that the combination of inhaled nitrous oxide and oxygen is a safe and effective means of managing pain and anxiety in dentistry when used appropriately.

Nitrous oxide doesn't require a pre-appointment fast, doesn't impair your driving ability after the recovery period, and requires no escort.

Oral conscious sedation — for higher anxiety levels

For patients with more significant phobia, oral conscious sedation — typically a benzodiazepine such as temazepam or diazepam taken approximately one hour before the appointment — provides a deeper level of anxiolysis while keeping you conscious and responsive. Dental anxiety can be managed through psychotherapeutic interventions, pharmacological interventions, or a combination of both, depending on the severity of the anxiety.

Oral conscious sedation requires advance planning: you can't drive to or from the appointment, a responsible adult escort is required, and the medication must be prescribed beforehand. If you think you'll need oral sedation, disclose this during your initial emergency booking call so the clinical team can make the necessary arrangements before you arrive.

Comparing sedation options for emergency dental patients

How to communicate your anxiety when booking an emergency slot

Disclosing dental anxiety when booking an emergency appointment feels uncomfortable for many patients — but it's one of the most clinically useful things you can do. Here's a practical script for the booking call:

1. State your emergency clearly ("I have severe tooth pain / a broken tooth / facial swelling")
2. Disclose your anxiety explicitly ("I also have significant dental anxiety and I'm worried about managing the appointment")
3. Specify your primary fear trigger if you know it ("I'm particularly afraid of injections / the sound of the drill / losing control")
4. Ask about sedation options ("Can you let me know whether nitrous oxide is available for my appointment?")
5. Confirm the clinician will be briefed ("Can you note my anxiety in my file so the dentist knows before I arrive?")

Smile Solutions' reception team can be reached on 13 13 96. The practice operates Monday through Saturday, with daily reserved emergency slots allocated through the triage process (see our guide on How Smile Solutions' Same-Day Emergency Appointments Work for a full walkthrough of the booking and triage process).

The multidisciplinary advantage for anxious patients in crisis

One underappreciated benefit of Smile Solutions' scale is that anxious patients in a dental emergency don't need to be sent elsewhere if the case turns out to be more complex than initially apparent. General dentists at Smile Solutions are experienced across all areas of dentistry and can provide emergency care for most presentations. The practice also has the full range of dental specialists on-site — orthodontists, endodontists, periodontists, prosthodontists, paediatric dentists, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons — all practising under the same roof.

For an anxious patient, being told mid-appointment that you need to attend a different practice for specialist care is a significant additional stressor. Smile Solutions has 60+ clinicians caring for a patient base of more than 250,000 across 40 operatory suites. If an emergency toothache turns out to require an endodontist, or a traumatic tooth injury requires an oral surgeon, that specialist is available within the same building — often on the same day — without you needing to start the anxiety management process again from scratch with an unfamiliar clinician.

This matters particularly for:

• Dental abscesses that may require specialist drainage (see our guide on Dental Abscess & Oral Infections: Recognising Danger Signs and Getting Emergency Care)
• Broken or cracked teeth where root canal therapy by an endodontist may be indicated on the same visit (see Broken, Chipped & Cracked Teeth: Emergency Repair Options at Smile Solutions)
• Wisdom tooth emergencies that may require an oral and maxillofacial surgeon (see Emergency Wisdom Tooth Pain Melbourne CBD: Impaction, Infection & Urgent Removal)

After the emergency: breaking the anxiety–avoidance cycle for good

A well-managed emergency appointment isn't just about resolving the acute crisis — it's a genuine opportunity to interrupt the fear-avoidance pattern that brought you there in the first place. As psychologist Eugene Dunne of Temple University's Kornberg School of Dentistry describes it: "Anxiety and fear can lead to delay or avoidance in dental care. As a result, when you do ultimately go to seek dental care, it might be emergency care and more invasive treatment is going to be needed. Thus, what they experience is more pain, more issues when they're actually at the dentist. So as a result, that cycle continues because it's being reinforced."

A positive emergency experience — one where your pain was managed, your clinician communicated clearly, and sedation made the procedure genuinely tolerable — can recalibrate your expectation of what dental care actually feels like. Smile Solutions emphasises continuity of care, with many patients seeing the same dentist and hygienist for years. Requesting the same clinician for follow-up appointments after a positive emergency experience is a straightforward, evidence-aligned strategy for building the trust that reduces long-term avoidance.

Key takeaways

• Dental fear affects about 16% of Australian adults, and approximately half of all adult emergency dental patients present with significant dental anxiety — making this a core clinical issue, not a peripheral one.
• Dental anxiety may meet diagnostic criteria for dental phobia if you've been avoiding appointments specifically because of fear. That avoidance increases the likelihood of needing emergency care.
• Disclosing your anxiety level when calling to book an emergency appointment at Smile Solutions (13 13 96) is the single most effective step you can take — it allows the team to brief your clinician, arrange sedation, and put accommodations in place before you arrive.
• Nitrous oxide has been the backbone of anxiety management in dentistry for a long time. Its benefits — anxiolysis, mild analgesia, amnesia, and near-immediate recovery — make it particularly well suited to same-day emergency appointments.
• Smile Solutions' multidisciplinary model means anxious patients receive their full course of emergency care, including specialist procedures, under one roof, without the compounding stress of referral to an unfamiliar practice.

Conclusion

Dental anxiety and dental emergencies are two of the most common oral health challenges Australians face — and they're far more likely to occur together than separately. The fear-avoidance cycle documented in the peer-reviewed literature isn't an abstraction; it's the lived reality of patients who arrive at an emergency appointment having not seen a dentist in years, in acute pain, and terrified of what comes next.

Smile Solutions' approach to this patient group rests on three things: transparent communication from the first booking call, a genuine spectrum of pharmacological anxiety-management options including nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation, and a multidisciplinary clinical model that resolves the emergency completely without requiring anxious patients to navigate multiple unfamiliar practices.

If you're in dental pain and fear is making it harder to pick up the phone, the most important thing to know is this: telling the team about your anxiety isn't a complication — it's information that makes your care better. Call 13 13 96, say what's happening, and say how you're feeling about it. The rest follows from there.

For related guidance, see our articles on Emergency Dental Costs in Melbourne CBD: What to Expect, Health Fund Cover & Payment Options (addressing the cost concerns that often compound anxiety-driven avoidance), What Counts as a Dental Emergency? A Complete Guide for Melbourne CBD Patients (to help you self-triage before calling), and Preventing Dental Emergencies: Evidence-Based Strategies for Melbourne CBD Patients (for reducing your risk of future crises once the immediate emergency is resolved).

Smile Solutions has been providing emergency dental care from Melbourne's CBD since 1993. Located at the Manchester Unity Building, Level 1, 220 Collins Street, the practice brings together 60+ clinicians — including 25+ board-registered specialists — who have cared for over 250,000 patients with a gentle and caring approach. No referral is required to book a specialist appointment. Call 13 13 96 or visit smilesolutions.com.au to arrange your emergency dental consultation today.

References

• Armfield, J.M. "The Extent and Nature of Dental Fear and Phobia in Australia." Australian Dental Journal, 2010; 55(4): 368–377. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1834-7819.2010.01256.x

• Armfield, J.M., Spencer, A.J., & Stewart, J.F. "Dental Fear in Australia: Who's Afraid of the Dentist?" Australian Dental Journal, 2006; 51(1): 78–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1834-7819.2006.tb00405.x

• Appukuttan, D.P. "Strategies to Manage Patients with Dental Anxiety and Dental Phobia: Literature Review." Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dentistry, 2016; 8: 35–50. https://doi.org/10.2147/CCIDE.S63626

• Crego, A., Carrillo-Díaz, M., Armfield, J.M., & Romero, M. "From Public Mental Health to Community Oral Health: The Impact of Dental Anxiety and Fear on Dental Status." Frontiers in Public Health, 2014; 2: 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00016

• Gordon, D., et al. "Success Rate of Nitrous Oxide–Oxygen Procedural Sedation in Dental Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." BMC Oral Health, 2021; 21: 575. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8637914/

• Armfield, J.M., & Heaton, L.J. "Management of Fear and Anxiety in the Dental Clinic: A Review." Australian Dental Journal, 2013; 58(4): 390–407. https://doi.org/10.1111/adj.12118

• American Dental Association. "Nitrous Oxide." ADA Oral Health Topics, 2023. https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/nitrous-oxide

• Tellez, M., Kinner, D.G., Heimberg, R.G., Lim, S., & Ismail, A.I. "Prevalence and Correlates of Dental Anxiety in Patients Seeking Dental Care." Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 2015; 43(2): 135–142.

• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). "Drilling Down: Discovering the Origins of Dental Anxiety." NHMRC News Centre, Australian Government. https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/news-centre/drilling-down-discovering-origins-dental-anxiety

• Smile Solutions. "Emergency Dental Melbourne CBD." Smile Solutions, 2024. https://www.smilesolutions.com.au/general-dentistry/emergency-dentistry/

• University of Adelaide, Dental Practice Education Research Unit. "Dental Fear and Anxiety." Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, 2023. https://health.adelaide.edu.au/arcpoh/dperu/colgate-special-topics/dental-fear-and-anxiety

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Smile Solutions — practice facts

• Location: Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne CBD
• Founded: 1993, by Dr Kia Pajouhesh
• Phone: 13 13 96
• Clinicians: 60+ clinicians, including 25+ board-registered specialists
• Patients cared for: Over 250,000
• Operatory suites: 40
• Operating days: Monday through Saturday
• No referral required to see a specialist
• Same-day emergency appointments available
• Sedation options offered: Nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation

Clinical/statistical facts (sourced from cited peer-reviewed literature)

• Prevalence of high dental fear in Australia: 16.1% of adults (Armfield, Australian Dental Journal, 2010; n=7,312)
• Highest prevalence age group: Adults aged 40–64 years
• Lowest prevalence age group: Adults aged 80 and over
• Approximately 1 in 3 adults with high dental fear has not visited a dentist in 10+ years
• Approximately 49% of emergency dental patients present with dental anxiety
• Most feared procedure: dental injection; second: drilling; third: tooth scaling
• Nitrous oxide onset: 3–5 minutes; recovery: approximately 5 minutes
• Nitrous oxide meta-analysis (BMC Oral Health, 2021; n=1,293): cumulative success rate 94.9%; adult-specific efficacy 99.9%
• Oral conscious sedation agent: typically temazepam or diazepam, taken approximately one hour pre-appointment