Afraid of the Dentist?

I recently read on the NHS Choices website that one in four of us dread the dentist. I am not surprised by this statistic as I myself and many of my dental negligence clients struggle with a dental phobia.

Building up the courage to get in the dental chair can be tough and fear of the dentist is often linked to a bad childhood experience and not helped by exaggerated portrayals of dental treatment in the media.

The good news is that dentists are now much more understanding of patients’ worries and fears.  It is a really important that you communicate your fears to the dentist and in fact there are a number of dentist that specialise in nervous patients. It is certainly worth carrying out research to find a local dentist that specialises in patients with a dental phobia.

If your fear of the dentist has prevented you from attending the dentist for a long time then you will pleased to hear that a lot of modern dental treatment can now be completely pain free.  If your root cause of your dental phobia is actually fear of dental needles then make sure you mention this to your dentist as there are anaesthetic gels available that can be applied to the area before the injection.

When your dental phobia is very severe, you may be an appropriate candidate to have dental procedures under sedation to help you relax. Whilst this is a very effective method to allow patients to have the dental treatment needed, it is not a long term solution that will resolve the actual phobia.

Recent research that was published in the British Dental Journal, that looked into the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in patients that had a dental phobia. In the simplest terms, CBT is talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.  The research demonstrated that patients that had the benefit of CBT were much more likely to undergo dental treatment without the need for sedation.

Summary

If your fear of the dentist prevents you from seeking the dental treatment and advice you need then it is likely that your oral health will be affected in the long term. It is therefore important that you try to tackle your fears and from my own personal experience, finding an understanding dentist is a good first step.