Fear of the Dentist

11 Sep Fear of the Dentist

For most of us a visit to the dentist is a dreaded thought and one that often leads to neglecting our dental health. For many its root is unknown and may have stemmed from family and friends who have described their horrific experiences, i.e. the fear has been planted into our brains; or it can simply be a fear of the unknown if there have been no prior experiences. But for many, it is usually a previous bad experience with regards to pain, financials or a failure of the outcome to live up to your expectations. This could leave one with a feeling of dissatisfaction, a betrayal of trust and of course fear of the dentist and future dental interventions.

As a result, as dentists we are often faced with an environment where, even though we may be meeting you for the first time, we are already disliked, distrusted, feared and worst of all seen as a ‘pain giver’. The truth though, is far from this yet may be closer to home. Am I making sense? Let me explain:

Our mouths are an extremely private and sensitive space of our body. Yet it plays an extremely important role in our lives. We use it to communicate and express ourselves, to eat and fuel our bodies, to taste and enjoy that very fuel so much so that our entire social lives tend to revolve around food and to be intimate with our partners. In addition, our smiles are probably one of the most powerful social tools we have, one that exudes confidence, happiness, beauty and our personalities. So, it is understandable to feel apprehensive and vulnerable to hand over this very personal part of our body to an unknown person, even though they may be a professional. Add to this a previous unpleasant experience and you get absolute horror. 

Neglect is frequently the result of this fear, and the extent of the neglect is mirrored in the condition of your teeth. The health of your teeth and gums is a reflection of your general health and now several systemic illnesses such as cardiac conditions and diabetes have been found to be directly related to oral health. Let’s not forget the impact it may have on our social and private lives. With passing time and disregard towards our dental complaints, things only get worse leading us to the very situations that we fear: increased pain, greater no. of visits to now deal with a bigger problem and higher costs of treatment. The reason for this is teeth have no reparative properties. If a part of the tooth is decayed, damaged or lost, it always has to be repaired with something artificial like a filling, a crown or an implant. 

So why am I saying the truth may be closer to home? Because, as dentists it is part of our jobs to dwell deeper into that fear. To ask the right questions to try and understand not only what you as a patient expects as an outcome from your visit to the dentist, but also to try and comprehend the angst, the anxiety, the jitters our profession tends to create in your minds. And if and only if you can see an ‘out’ to these feelings, you may just start to see the dentist, not only as a last resort option because you couldn’t sleep the previous night due to the toothache, but as a health care partner and more importantly as a ‘pain reliever’ and a friend. 

And so, even though the patient – dentist relationship many a times starts off as a rocky one, it has the potential to blossom into a trustworthy and caring association provided both parties are willing to spend the time to communicate at a level beyond the confines of the mouth.