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 Dental fear is an aversion that affects millions of Americans. It is an intense to dental treatment that can be attributed to many different causes. Some of these causes are based upon the patient’s personal experience. Others, whoever, have been absorbed from the media, family, or friends whose negative anecdotes about dentists often inflate and distort reality.
• Friends and family rank among some of the worst sources of Dental Phobia. In everyone’s circle of friends, there is always someone who has a horror story about dental neglect or malpractice.
• Embarrassment can also keep a person from seeking dental treatment. A person may have neglected his or her teeth for so long that they fear the dentist will scold them when they finally do seek treatment. This is NOT reality.
• People watch television and movies and actually take these things seriously, not realizing that all the bad doctors and dentists are characters intended to sell ratings and tickets, not reality.
• Many people who live active and successful lives feel suddenly helpless and out of control when they have to lie back in a dental chair.
• Some people feel that dentistry is too impersonal and cold because of all the protective clothing dentists have to wear to protect themselves from contagions.
• Many have bad memories from childhood when dentistry was not quite so advanced,.
• In many people, dental fear is actually a psychological subset of a greater fear of the unknown.
Fortunately, dental fear is something can be overcome. This is because fear is a reaction of the instinctive, animal mind. Humans have a more highly evolved mind, and this allows people to take conscious control over their fear, and to take action to put it in its proper place.
Notice we said take action, and not just make a decision not to be afraid. In order for the mind to change its ways, there has to be a new set of behaviors implemented that will help the patient feel safe and in control.
The first order of business is to talk to the dentists about this need for control. Obviously, a patient cannot control the procedure itself, but he or she can control your awareness of the procedure
1. Ask the dentist to explain any and all procedures he or she will be performing. Knowing what to expect will go a long way toward helping you overcome your dental fear.
2. Study internet resources on dentistry. Understanding some of the new treatments and technologies and see how much things have changed over the past few years.
3. Never believe that a true professional will embarrass you or scold you. Doctors care about patients in spite of some popular myths. Dentistry exists because people make mistakes and dentists know that it is there job to fix these mistakes.
4. Relaxation techniques often help keep anxious nerves calm while leaning back in the dental chair. Deep breathing exercises are very good for this. Find one that will work for you.
5. If deep breathing does not work, there is always sedation dentistry. Sedation dentistry uses anesthesia to create a relaxed and pain-free experience for patients.
Cosmetic implant dentistry is a specialized field that requires extensive knowledge and experience to be done correctly. The Medical Center Dental Group in Houston, Texas brings all of that and more to the direct benefit of each and every patient we treat. Although we are located in the world famous Houston Medical Center at Scurlock Towers, we routinely see dental patients who travel from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Beaumont and Midland Texas to see Dr. Dale Brant, Dr. Charles Campbell or Dr. Elizabeth O’Sullivan-Winslow for their cosmetic denistry services.
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