Dental phobia affects around 5% of people in the US, often caused by a bad experience or indirect negative stories. Treatment can include behavioral techniques, relaxation strategies, and medication. Avoiding dental care can reinforce negative beliefs about dentists.
Odontophobia is a severe fear of visiting the dentist or having a dental procedure. Many people experience some form of negative emotion when visiting the dentist, but people with dental phobia often avoid a dental exam unless there is a serious problem. Sometimes fear of dentists is caused by direct experience, but it can also be the result of indirect experiences, such as hearing a bad story from a friend. Treatment may involve behavioral techniques or medications, depending on the severity of the problem.
Although a strong fear of dentistry is relatively rare, it has been estimated that about three out of four people in the United States have some fear of visiting the dentist’s office. About 5% of these people have severe odontophobia, which prevents them from visiting a dentist unless there is an emergency. Avoiding dentistry until a serious problem occurs often reinforces a person’s negative beliefs about dentists.
Dental phobia is usually the result of a bad experience. Most people with a strong fear of dental procedures have had a painful dental procedure in their life, often as a child. This is known as odontophobia caused by direct experience. Rude or unapproachable dentists are thought to be more likely than friendly dentists to cause dental phobia through direct experience.
Some people develop odontophobia through indirect experiences. If, for example, a person regularly hears negative stories from other people about dental procedures, then he may feel fearful even though he has no direct negative experiences. The portrayal of dentists in the media can also cause a person to fear dental procedures without having any first-hand experience.
There are numerous techniques for treating odontophobia. Behavioral techniques, such as positive reinforcement, are often effective in treating mild to moderate cases. Teaching a person relaxation strategies can also help in some situations. Other methods, such as hypnotherapy and neurolinguistic programming (NLP), are sometimes helpful in treating a fear of dentistry.
If urgent dental care is needed but a patient feels unable to have the procedure, medications are sometimes needed. In some cases, a mild sedative is given to the patient to help him relax and feel less stressed. The advantage of mild sedatives is that the patient can still talk to the dentist. Sometimes, however, general anesthesia may be required depending on the type of procedure being performed.
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