The Fear of Dentists and Dentistry

Sometimes, a fear of dentists is caused by previous experience. For example, someone who has gone to a dentist that caused them a great deal of pain has been conditioned to assume that all dentists cause pain. The association may also be indirect and open to a variety of causes and reasons.

Fear of clinical settings in general or some other past traumatic experience can be triggered by the sights and smells of a dental office. Being unable to control one’s environment is generally something that people have a problem with, and the chair can feel very restrictive to some. The fear of needles is also an issue, because in invasive procedures, a dental professional must use local anesthetic that is injected into the mouth and gum tissue.

If you experience dental fear, you may find positive results by switching to a new dentist. Many dentists are aware of the concerns and anxiety that their patients can experience; therefore, there has been research in the area of treating the dental anxiety issue.

Dental professionals who are aware of fear issues have educated themselves on ways to make their patients more comfortable and at ease when in the chair. There are several different kinds of techniques available to make you feel calm while having dental work performed.

Anesthesia is one category of options. General anesthesia can be used for patients with extreme dental phobia. Dentists advertising “sleep dentistry” are becoming more common. Others may prefer conscious sedation, meaning that they are given a mood altering substance, such as anti-anxiety medication. Nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”, is one treatment that you are likely familiar with. Nitrous oxide has been used for years to relax patients during invasive dental procedures.

Some teeth experts have trained to be more attentive to their patients’ needs. Often, one of the causes of dental fear is simply the cold, clinical attitude that comes with a career in medicine. While it certainly has its place, people tend to feel more comfortable when they experience their dentist as a warm and caring person. Therefore, they can learn how to approach patients with dental fear and guide them through thought processes that will help them let go of their fear. For severe cases, the aid of a psychologist or therapist may be necessary for a patient to fully recover from debilitating dental fear.

In conclusion, people fear teeth experts for a variety of reasons, but there are also a variety of techniques for treating the anxiety many of us experience when seeing a dentist. By being open to a mixture of solutions to the problem, most of those with dental fear can overcome their anxiety and experience the necessary care of their teeth that a teeth expert can provide.