Dentophobia – how do I get rid of my fear of the dentist?
According to surveys, many people are afraid to go to the dentist because they feel very stressed. Particularly those patients who have had their teeth treated at a time when anesthetics were only used as a last resort, mainly during surgery. This problem can worsen greatly, turning from a simple fear of dental treatment into a real phobia.
The difference between anxiety and phobia
An uncontrollable, panic fear of the dentist is called dentophobia. With normal phobia patients simply experience anxiety at the thought of undergoing dental work and with dentophobia they panic at the thought of having dental work done.
If a person cannot make up their mind to go to the dentist even though they are experiencing severe dental pain, this can already be considered a sign of dental phobia (dentophobia, odontophobia). When at the doctor’s surgery, the patient with this type of pathology feels insurmountable fear and will not contact the doctor, while any action or manipulation leads to high blood pressure and palpitations. As a result, such a person may easily faint.
However, it is not advisable to fight such a disorder as dentophobia by avoiding visits to the dentist. If treatment is not begun on time, decay will develop into pulpitis, inflammation of the gums will occur, periodontitis will develop, which will lead to severe tooth decay that is impossible to save and must be extracted.
If not treated in time, oral diseases have a negative impact on the entire body: the infection enters the digestive system disrupting its normal functioning, the endocrine glands become inflamed, and rheumatism, asthma, and other pathologies may develop as all the organs are linked. This is why dentophobia has to be dealt with.
Dental Center “DMC Tour” in Antalya employs true professionals who can play soothing music during procedures, and suggest a patient watch a film to make a visit to the dentist a pleasant opportunity not only to cure teeth but also to relax and have a good time.
Dentophobia – what causes the fear?
Normal anxiety and simple fear before dental treatment are quite different from complex disorders such as dentophobia. If a patient comes into contact with the dentist, this is probably a minor fear, in which case the dentist at the DMC Tour Dental Clinic will do his best to reassure and connect with the patient by selecting the right words. In the process, the patient understands that their fears are unfounded, they relax, and in some cases, they may even fall asleep. This is possible when reciprocal contact is established and the person fully trusts the doctor.
Someone suffering from dentophobia may faint at the sight of any instrument and during treatment, they may start waving their arms in the way of the dentist, gasp for air or their blood pressure may skyrocket. In this case, it is clear that the patient cannot really cope with his fears, he panics, which is a symptom of psychological pathology.
Types of dentophobia
Dentophobia is conventionally divided into several types:
- Congenital (very rare). A person from early childhood experiences an irresistible fear of any medical procedure: taking medication, injections, examinations at the doctor’s office and tests simply cause them to go into shock.
- Imaginary. Fear arises from external causes. A person, even if they have never treated teeth before, may develop dental phobia due to the fact that they have seen dental manipulation in a film: drilling, extraction, or surgery. The phobia may also develop from stories of friends who strongly exaggerate the “horrors” of dental treatment.
- Acquired. It is the person’s own negative experience. A person constantly reproduces in the memory of painful procedures that were carried out without anesthesia, afallen-outt filling, installed recently, etc. As a result, they develop a persistent fear of dental treatment.
What can I do to overcome dentophobia?
Dental treatment must be carried out in good time, as postponing a visit to the dentist can be very time-consuming, costly, and expensive.
For anxiety about procedures, it is best to consult a psychologist. The cause of the problem may be more serious than it seems and the specialist will be able to help to resolve it properly and professionally.
The choice of the clinic should be taken more seriously. Before visiting a doctor, you should learn about the anesthesia techniques used at the dental office and new technology for dental treatment. In addition, the dental clinic should have a pleasant atmosphere, a relaxing ambiance, polite staff, and no persistent smell of medication. It is advisable to choose a clinic where the staff is up-to-date and which has modern equipment.
During an appointment, you should make contact with the dentist. The doctor must be sympathetic to the patient’s problem and help in solving it.
Before the start of dental treatment, it is necessary to find out what kind of manipulations the doctor will perform, what instruments and equipment are used, and what the cost of the procedures is. This will help to avoid stressful situations.
For patients with dentophobia, specialists at the DMC Tour in Antalya offer sedation, which calms the patient and puts them into a light sleep, and usually, they do not remember anything after treatment. The application of this technique leads to the understanding that there is nothing to be afraid of when undergoing dental treatment, and next time the patient goes to the dentist with more confidence and can bear the treatment calmly under local anesthesia.
Important to remember! The most effective remedy for dental phobia is regular visits to the dentist and a person’s commitment to overcoming fear, eliminating oral diseases, and making their smile beautiful and healthy!
