Dental Fear manifests in different ways!

Ever wondered what the most common dental fears are? Today on the Defacto Dentists blog, we’re looking at the top 5 things people are scared of when it comes to the dentist. Are you scared of any of these?…

Drills and Needles

It’s unsurprising that these two appear at the top of the list. They are the two biggest factors that people fear when visiting the dentist. Some people may fear needles generally. Others don’t like the thought of injections into their gums. A fear of dental drills is usually caused by a dislike towards the sound and vibration. People also associate needles and drills too. However, dentistry is becoming less and less invasive, now offering needle free anaesthetics and pain-free dentistry. Speak to your dentist to see if these options are available to you.

Pain

Nobody wants to be in pain. Unfortunately, many of us associate fear with the dentist and dental treatment. Fear of pain may cause you to tense up, which can actually make you less resistant to pain and make you feel anything more intensely. Most dental treatments are now carried out under local anaesthetic to help minimise feeling.

Embarrassment about bad teeth

Before we go any further, just know that dentists have definitely seen worse. Dentists have seen it all when it comes to oral health. If you think it’s bad, it’s probably not that bad. Many people feel ashamed about their teeth and feel guilty about their poor dental hygiene or bad breath. Dentists aren’t there to shame you, they are there to help get you back on track to good oral health by providing treatment and advice.

Sedation fears

Sedation fear can be one of two things:

Many people fear losing control of their bodies during sedation. We are convinced that this fear stems from things you see in the movies or on TV. Patients think they will lose the ability to swallow, control their breathing or think they could choke.

Alternatively, fear of sedation may also be worrying that pain may be able to be felt, despite sedation or anaesthetic. Patients worry that the sedation will be ineffective and therefore cause pain or damage to teeth and gums.

It’s important to realise that for top teeth, only an individual tooth will be numbed. For bottom teeth, sometimes your tongue or cheek may feel swollen when numbed, but they won’t be. You lose sensation in these areas but not function.

Suffer with dental fear but due a check up?

We can help! Many dentists on www.defactodentists.com are happy to treat phobic patients, offering sedation, hypnosis or other minimally invasive therapies. Please don’t let your oral health suffer because of your dental phobia.