How to overcome fear of the dentist

If you have a toothache, bleeding gums or tooth enamel destruction, the first thing that comes to mind is to make an appointment with a dentist. For some people, going to the dentist does not cause negative emotions; they perceive the treatment calmly. But according to statistics, for almost every second person, going to the dentist causes fear and anxiety. Such people resign themselves to their pain, endure it, preferring to put off visiting a doctor. Thereby provoking the development of dangerous diseases. You can not do it this way! Dentophobia needs to be dealt with. But how?, you ask. How to stop being afraid of the dentist? We will tell you about this now.

Reasons for fear of the dentist

To stop being afraid of the dentist, you must first understand the reasons that cause this fear. Such reasons include:

vivid childhood memories when a visit to the dentist was accompanied by pain and the sounds of a drill;
panic fear of just the sight of dental instruments;
fear of feeling pain, fear of the sight of blood

These main reasons can be supplemented by indirect ones: people are afraid of medical errors and expensive treatment, afraid to show their teeth to an unknown person, and feel weak and helpless in the dental chair.

Description and types of dentophobia

Fear of the dentist or dentophobia (stomatophobia) is common to many people. They simply have a pathological fear of visiting a dental clinic. And here about dentists. In everyday terms, they are all “dentists.” However, this is not quite true.

The dentist has secondary specialized training and does not undertake the treatment of complex diseases of the oral cavity. A dentist has a higher medical education and practically treats all dental diseases. This is the difference.

Dentophobia affects all people, young and old. Children and adults, especially women, are afraid. According to statistics, one in ten people is afraid of going to the dentist. The reason is acute toothache, when, for example, they start drilling a diseased tooth. There is simply no strength to bear it. Isn’t it true that this feeling is familiar to everyone?

Although nowadays there are painkillers, when treatment occurs completely without pain, some people even “on pain of death” refuse to go to the “dentist”. This is already a pathological form of fear of the dentist, requiring adjustment of the psycho-emotional sphere.

As a result of research, it was found that dental phobia occurs:

Hereditary. May be associated with abnormal intrauterine development of the fetus. When a child is born, at the genetic level he has already formed a persistent fear of all kinds of pain. This is a serious deviation in mental development. Only a psychotherapist can help get rid of such pathology. Provided that the patient works hard on himself and takes psychotherapeutic procedures seriously.
Acquired in the process of life. The most common. The reason for this phobia is a negative experience from visiting the dentist’s office, for example, in childhood. The severe pain when a tooth was torn or drilled remains in my memory. In the future, there is a fear of going to the dentist, although dental “suffering” bothers me. This has serious health consequences.
Born of Imagination. The man was told that “teeth extractors” do not know pity, they get pleasure when they pull teeth and see how a person screams in pain. The media can also “add fuel to the fire.” Sometimes articles appear that negatively highlight the work of dental offices. For example, a man was given a painkiller injection, but he took it and died. After reading this, a person is afraid to visit the dentist. Such a far-fetched phobia can be removed without contacting a psychologist; it is enough to undergo treatment with an attentive, qualified dentist. Fear will recede and be forgotten.

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It is important to know! People suffering from dental phobia turn to the dentist only when the pain can no longer be tolerated. A late visit to the dentist can cause serious health problems.

How to stop being afraid of the dentist

Dealing with the fear of visiting the dental clinic is both simple and complex. It’s simple because, having identified the main cause of fear, it’s twice as easy to stop being afraid of the dentist. It is difficult because it requires willpower and self-improvement on the part of the person himself.

Thus, all patients of our Dentistry on Shchelkovskaya (not far from the Shchelkovskaya metro station) are always aware of what and how they will be treated before starting treatment. The dentist talks about painkillers, technologies that do not injure teeth, as was the case before, about filling materials that last for decades with proper care.

Our patients are always aware of the cost of treatment and discuss the possibility of installment payment with the doctor. Light, pleasant music plays in our offices, you will be completely calm and the treatment will take place without complications, fear and pain.

Take the first step towards defeating dental phobia, make an appointment with a dentist by calling 8 (495) 221-21-18 or using the online appointment form.

To stop being afraid of the dentist, you need to familiarize yourself with the state of modern dental science. This is a very effective technique - to find out in detail what scares you. Then a visit to the doctor will no longer seem threatening and scary.

First, familiarize yourself with the products that dentists use today for local anesthesia. They begin to act almost immediately and completely dull the pain. Even if there is surgery, you will not feel it.

Secondly, the range of medicines and materials that are used in dentistry today has expanded significantly. Today, it is absolutely safe to relieve any pain from treatment of teeth and gums - the doctor himself will prescribe the drug you need. For filling and dental treatment, modern materials are used, which are not rough, like the old ones, but safe and comfortable.

The greatest fear of the dentist among patients is caused by procedures performed in the dental cavity. It is they who are associated in people’s minds with the terrible sound of a drill, with sharp and uncomfortable instruments. In fact, things are completely different in dentistry today. Drills are no longer so noisy, and instruments are constantly being improved and modernized. Throw away the stereotypes of ten years ago and feel free to make an appointment with the dentist.

What should true dentophobes do?

An ordinary person, experiencing fear of the dentist, understands the need for dental treatment, overcomes anxiety and successfully completes all procedures. With dental phobes, everything is much more complicated; these are the most difficult patients for dentists. Psychologists divide dentophobia into three types:

congenital – unfounded; patients have been afraid of various medical procedures since childhood;
acquired – appears on the basis of one’s own negative experience;
fictional - develops under the influence of scary stories about dentists heard from friends or seen in movies.

People suffering from dental phobia put off visiting a doctor until the last minute. They take pills, use dubious traditional methods, suffer from pain, but still do not go to the hospital. In extreme cases, when the condition of the tooth is deplorable, dentophobes agree to have it removed.

Before visiting the dental office, such patients experience the following symptoms:

increased blood pressure;
pain in the heart area;
noise in ears;
increased breathing and heart rate;
dizziness, up to loss of consciousness;
feeling of a lump in the throat;
sticky sweat appears;
abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting;
trembling of the limbs and head;
tears;
hysterical fits.

Patients may be excessively talkative; some grab the doctor’s hands when they see a syringe or instrument.

Such patients need the help of a psychotherapist before visiting the dentist. The specialist will find out the cause of panic fear and, if necessary, prescribe medication, hypnotherapy or acupuncture.

Dental treatment for patients suffering from dental phobia must be carried out using sedation. Additionally, some clinics use calming methods such as relaxation music and video glasses.

Conquering the fear of the dentist

To stop being afraid of the dentist, you need to understand that the doctor is not our enemy, but a friend, and that treatment is not torture, but a process of getting rid of what torments us.

If you do not have a regular attending physician, try to choose a cozy clinic for treatment, located close to work or home. Read reviews, ask your friends - maybe they will advise you on a suitable option. Surely among your friends there are those who were treated by our dentists! You can find out about our doctors on the Internet, not only on our website.

The dentist is your assistant and his goal is to help you get better. Do not doubt the dentist's competence. A dentist removing a healthy tooth is a fantasy story; it simply doesn’t exist! On the contrary, modern dentistry offers so many different treatment methods that the doctor will choose the one that is right for you.

Tell your doctor that you have a fear of the dentist and dental treatment. In medical practice, this is a standard case, and each doctor has his own approaches to “problem” patients. Someone never stops joking to relieve the patient’s tension, and in the company of such a doctor you feel light and joyful. Some doctors turn on a calm background music and speak softly and delicately.

Causes of the disease

If you feel the first signs of such a fear, then try not to allow it to escalate, because having brought the body to a real phobia, it will be much more difficult to get rid of it. The tooth itself will not stop hurting and sooner or later you will have to go to the doctor. And the sooner you do this, the easier the whole procedure will be.

To help yourself figure out where this fear comes from and how to get rid of it, you need to clearly determine why it arose. There may be the following common explanations for this:

Previous negative experience with dental treatment. Perhaps the doctor was incompetent and performed sloppy actions, or even used outdated instruments or forgot about such a detail as pain relief. The next time after a difficult and scary procedure, a person will not want to repeat it again.
Fear that the dentist will blame the patient for neglected teeth, neglect of his health and reproach him in every possible way. For some, reprimand can be more scary and humiliating than the treatment itself.
If, during pregnancy and birth of a child, disturbances in the production of hormones such as serotonin and norepinephrine are discovered, then throughout his life he will be too anxious about any unusual manipulations that cause pain or discomfort.
A low pain threshold, increased sensitivity or mental pathologies also affect the presence of such fear.
Numerous stories from relatives, friends, neighbors, stories in the news since childhood form an insurmountable fear of the dental chair in the child.
The unknown of what the doctor will do, how it will affect dental health, unclear names and new technologies can make a person wary. It’s much easier when you understand what will happen and what the consequences will be.
There are also cases when fear is just an aesthetic problem. For example, a woman is embarrassed to visit a male doctor and sit in front of him with almost no makeup and in an awkward position with her mouth open. In this case, the phobia will not be caused by the manipulations themselves and can be treated quite simply - just find a female dentist and establish friendly contact with her.
In case of fears of pregnant women who have to have their teeth treated during this delicate period, there may be a fear that any procedures, and especially medications and anesthesia, will harm the baby. In fact, today's medicine is able to offer patients medications that are quite safe in this regard, which can also be used during pregnancy. It is much more dangerous to develop dental diseases and ignore them. After all, the infection can quickly spread throughout the body and harm the unborn baby.

Working on your fear of the dentist

So, we have introduced you to the basic methods on how to stop being afraid of the dentist. Now your task is to decide to overcome this fear. Spend a little time on what specifically frightens you during the dental treatment process – the type of instruments, the fear of the doctor’s hostility, or the high cost of treatment?

Work with each specific fear, try to analyze it, or even better, imagine it in an exaggerated version. Imagine. That you have come across an evil doctor who does nothing but hurl reproaches at you. Introduced? Naturally, you immediately realized that such a doctor looked like a fairy-tale character. Are you afraid of expensive treatment? Discuss all possible options with your doctor, he is well aware that many types of treatment are not available to a large number of people due to their high cost.

Fear of the dentist does not go away immediately, but it begins to disappear immediately after your first visit to the dentist. Each subsequent visit to the dentist will be easier and easier for you, and when you see the result - straight, beautiful teeth and healthy gums, you will understand that all your fears were unfounded.

Having successfully overcome your fear of the dentist, you can now help your friends, family and children cope with this fear as well. After all, fighting fears with friendly support is more effective and confident. After treatment in our clinic, you will receive a special invitation for your loved one, acquaintance, friend or colleague to a free dental examination. Isn’t it a pleasure to give a beautiful smile to someone dear to your heart? We are waiting for you and your loved ones in our Dentistry on Shchelkovskaya, we will move towards victory over the fear of dentists together!

Alternative Treatments

In the most extreme case, when all the advice does not help and there is no strength to control your fear, you can resort to an extreme option in the fight against a phobia - sedation. This is a special procedure that is carried out with the aim of maximally calming a person before scary manipulations.

At the same time, the patient is immersed in a shallow sleep, similar to full anesthesia, but a slightly different state. As a result, the person feels virtually no pain and, even after the medication wears off, may forget about what happened in the doctor’s office.

In addition to the efforts of the patient himself, the actions of the dentist are also important, which should be aimed at establishing contact even with the most difficult and sensitive people:

Playing soft music or soothing sounds of nature will create a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere in the office.
The presence of a screen or video glasses will distract the patient from terrible thoughts with the help of a film, cartoon or some exciting footage.
A calm heart-to-heart conversation, showing personal interest in a person has a calming effect.
When communicating, avoid criticism and moralizing; this will only strain and intensify the unpleasant feelings of an already frightened patient.
Have general sedatives or anesthesia on hand for the most difficult cases.

How to help a child?

Issues of fear are encountered much more often in pediatric dentistry, because children are afraid of all manipulations without exception, even the most harmless ones. And they are even more afraid of doctors. The child is not yet able to figure out which doctor is in front of him and what exactly he will do. The experience of vaccinations, blood tests, or treatment with injections provokes a child to further fear the man in the white coat.

Already at the age of two years, there may be a need to see a doctor, but the child is afraid to have his teeth treated. He is not able to control his emotions and a lot depends on the behavior of his parents and the doctor at this moment.

The reasons for children's fears may be not only the experience of injections and fear of upcoming pain, but also various stories that he heard at home from parents or other relatives. Also, children quickly become wary when adults show that something unusual is happening, ask the child not to be afraid and behave quite tensely. This situation indicates that something unpleasant will happen.

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Why is it dangerous to be afraid to treat and remove teeth?

Some people, not knowing how to overcome their fear of the dentist, prefer to endure toothache until the last moment, and go to the doctor only if it becomes unbearable. However, there are situations when such behavior becomes truly dangerous, especially if the pain is caused by the onset of some kind of inflammatory process.

So, with acute pulpitis or periodontitis, an infectious disease such as phlegmon can develop. This pathology poses a danger not only to human health, but also to his life.

Various infectious processes in the oral cavity can lead to inflammation of the lymph nodes - lymphadenitis, which, if left untreated, often leads to serious complications.

The presence of advanced caries, infection, periodontal disease and dental trauma often leads to abscesses, the main treatment for which is surgery. Without medical intervention, the disease is fatal.

In addition, caries slowly but surely destroys dental tissue, and if it is not treated, over time there will be no chance to save the tooth.

Therefore, for people who have no idea how to overcome their fear of the dentist, despite severe pain, it will be enough to simply assess the consequences of postponing a trip to the dentist.