Dentalnews (en)

Some people are terrified of going to the dentist. Can they get help?

What used to be the exception years ago has now become a common procedure – dental treatment under general anaesthesia.

We’ve found out that one dental team in Austria goes even further and offers such patients not only treatment under anaesthesia, but also help in reducing their fear. “Fear of the dentist puts a very great strain on the patient”, reports Dr. Belsky. Fear often starts with one bad experience and gets progressively worse. Because both check-ups and treatment are avoided for years, the patient’s teeth keep getting worse.

This is a vicious circle that many people are caught in for life.

The all-encompassing holistic method presented here helps repair teeth step by step and gets patients to feel better as well.

More information on dental work and reducing fear of the dentist here.

More articles on fear of the dentist here.

Your Dental News Team

A forum to help you with your fear of going to the dentist may help to ease your fears ; but did you know that a fear of dentists, or phobia of dentists, is something completely normal!

Fear of the dentist is a common topic these days. You keep hearing about experts or new methods promising to take away your fears forever.

Let’s take a look at the typical fear of the dentist. This is completely normal and is actually a kind of defence mechanism common to our species. Thousands of years ago, whenever our ancestors found themselves in dangerous situations, they had to flee, and fear would trigger this behavior.
Phobias are very deeply rooted in the human psyche. And if we apply this to visits to the doctor or dentist, then it becomes obvious why so many people  get scared or feel queasy.

“When I look inside myself I think back to the earliest experiences I had at my dentist’s. The office had a strange smell, and the air compressor was hidden inside a wooden cabinet in the waiting room, so every time the dentist used it, you would hear rattling sounds in the waiting room, which went on and on. And the operations weren’t exactly pleasant either.”

It’s understandable that these kinds of experiences cause fear! Some experience cause more fear and some less. There is absolutely no reason to be ashamed! Of course there is such a thing as normal fear, and then there’s pathological fear, and if it has a patient in its grip this can lead to extreme reactions (such as being “paralyzed with fear”). In this case a person may need professional help.

The good thing is that in recent years, doctors have learned to take these phobias into account and take measures against them. This includes shorter waiting times, short breaks during treatment, keeping a conversation going during treatment, or treatment under general anaesthesia. All you need to do is to let staff know about your fear when making an appointment…

So don’t be afraid to admit to your fears!

Knowledge can help allay your fears!
Don’t hesitate to take a look at our dental video lexikon. Hundreds of dental videos brought to you in 5 languages! Simply enter the topics you would like to know about under Search and you will be shown a selection of films to choose from.

There are also many excellent dental forums available under checkdent. One of them right here!