Dental anxiety and fear are very real and maybe more common than you think. With May being Mental Health Awareness month, we felt it fitting to shine some light on the fear and anxiety of coming to, being at or needing to see the dentist. Rest assured, Dr. Spear and his team know this to be true and help soothe patients’ nerves and anxiety on a daily basis.
According to the Journal Of Dental Hygiene https://jdh.adha.org/content/91/1/30 there is a difference between dental anxiety and fear or phobia. To begin, let’s differentiate between dental fear (phobia) and dental anxiety.
Anxiety is defined as a response to a perceived threat, whether real or not and it can be physical and/or emotional. This anxiety can be caused by thoughts about the cost of treatment, discomfort while at the appointment or potential pain. These ideas can come from past or future experiences. Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that something is dangerous, threatening or painful. Phobia is caused by fear, when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our fears they become phobias.
Some shocking but very real statistics state that 50-80% of American adults report some level of dental anxiety. This anxiety and fear can lead patients to completely avoid care resulting in dire situations. When small issues are treated early, severe issues are less likely to arise. Our staff is sensitive and aware of the challenges that dental anxiety and fear cause and has techniques to help relax patients. These techniques include music, deep breaths, expressing fears and more – including nitrous oxide and oral sedation or both. Additionally, we believe that although dentistry has its challenges, it can be delivered comfortably. And, this repeated good experience shows with multiple patients (in our practice) to lessen anxiety and fear and increase confidence in what dentistry and what compassionate, skillful dentists, hygienists and assistants can offer.
We’re going to give you some of the more common fears people have that surround the dentist and how you can overcome those fears.
Fear of the dental equipment: Let’s face it when you visit the dentist all you are thinking about are all of the tools that are going to be used to torment your mouth, right? This can be one of the scariest parts of a dental visit. You can help ease this fear by asking your dentist if you can hold the tools first, so they don’t seem as foreign to you.
Fear of drowning in saliva: This is a common anxiety patients have. Before your procedure takes place, let the dentist or assistants know of your concern. Then, ask them when you lift your hand to slip the saliva ejector in to clear out all the fluid. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you can’t swallow, so let our team know when you come in. Accordingly, treatment times can be adjusted to accommodate your situation.
Feeling uncomfortable lying back in the dentist’s chair: Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to think about lying back in a dentist’s chair. A remedy may be to only put the chair half-back so it’s more comfortable or consider bringing a pillow to make you more comfortable in the chair while the dentist is handling the procedure. We offer neck pillows and blankets to ease any uncomfortability.
If you have a fear we haven’t addressed, please give us a call today at 817.920.1488. We want you to have an amazing experience here at the office of Dr. Brent A. Spear, so don’t hesitate to ask us any of your questions or concerns.