Fear of the dentist is one of the most powerful fears of mankind. Going to the doctor becomes a challenge for many, but some patients fall into real panic even at the slightest hint of the need for dental treatment.
Dentophobia is the name given to panic fear of dental procedures; It is imperative to get rid of it, because dental health is an integral part of the health of the whole body.
Being afraid is harmful
Fear of the dentist manifests itself in different ways. From mild discomfort to panic attacks. In the latter case, we are talking about dental phobia - a disorder in which fear clouds the mind so much that the patient is not able to independently go to the dentist even in severe pain, and once in the chair, does not answer questions, tries to interfere with the doctor’s actions and may even lose consciousness.
But milder forms of fear can also be dangerous.
Fear of dentists is “harmful” stress
The fear of dental treatment, like other obsessive fears, has negative consequences:
- avoiding a frightening situation. A visit to the clinic is constantly postponed, due to which the disease progresses, teeth are destroyed more and more, and more and more complex, lengthy and expensive treatment is required;
- fear depresses the nervous system, which leads to various disorders;
- before visiting the dentist, sleep and digestive disorders, irritability, and anxiety appear;
- if your loved ones do not share your fears and do not consider going to the dentist a feat, then there is a high probability of conflict;
- During the appointment, unpleasant conditions may occur: dizziness, pressure surges, pain of various types;
- if your body is tense due to fear, you will flinch from every touch, which makes the doctor’s work difficult.
Treatment methods
Dentophobia can be dealt with using the following methods:
- Psychotherapeutic method.
- Medication method.
Medication method
Drug treatment consists of using special antidepressant drugs. An interesting study was conducted at psychiatric institutes in Russia, the result of which showed that dental phobia is well treated with the help of serotonin-selective antidepressants. Such drugs, for example, include cipramil. The drug allows you to completely eliminate anxiety, due to the fact that the production and metabolism of serotonin in the head is normalized.
Long-term treatment with antidepressants is not addictive and is quite well tolerated by patients. A person begins to feel a weakening of fear after just three weeks of taking medication. For a sustainable effect, treatment will be required for at least three months.
Antidepressants are prescribed for severe phobias. In case of a mild form of the disease, it is enough to talk with the patient, give pain relief before the injection and administer modern painkillers.
For more persistent dental phobia, premedication is recommended. Its essence is to take sedatives in advance of the procedure. Such medications can be taken in various forms: tablets, injections or syrups. Premedication is permitted both several hours and several days before the intended treatment.
Psychotherapeutic method
The psychotherapeutic method helps to find out and eliminate the very causes of the disease. The main goal of treatment with a psychotherapist is to convey to the patient the information that his fear can be easily controlled, and ignoring dental treatment will certainly lead to more serious consequences.
Depending on the severity of dental phobia, treatment takes different times. The efficiency of the process is affected by the forces applied on both sides.
Psychologist's Arguments
- Every person in the world is obliged and must visit the dentist. How many people in the world have already done this and nothing terrible, much less fatal, has happened to them. No one has ever died from dental treatment.
- The psychologist advises using a special method called “anchoring.” A person must remember moments in life when he experienced a tremendous sense of courage, complete fearlessness, strong endurance and absolute calm. The dentophobe must anchor these feelings in his memory. While in the dental office, the patient should try to reproduce this anchored image in reality.
- Psychologists advise treatment under sedation. This is a special method that allows the patient to completely calm down and fall into a shallow sleep. Upon completion of treatment, the person does not remember any unpleasant sensations. He clearly understands that there is nothing wrong with dental treatment. Next time, the dentist will completely trust the doctors, knowing that the treatment process is painless.
- Dental treatment is improving every year. Science is moving in this direction by leaps and bounds. Recently, manufacturers have released modern equipment that allows for more productive and painless treatment. In addition, modern anesthetics make the process of being in the dentist’s chair completely painless.
- There is one more point that lies in the peculiarities of the human psyche. It has been proven that even the most intense pain is erased from memory after 3 hours. If you try to recall a serious painful sensation experienced in your memory, you will not be able to do this.
- A psychologist may recommend taking a loved one with you to the dentist. The presence of a soul mate nearby will facilitate the treatment process, having a calming effect on the person.
- If a patient is afraid of contracting AIDS, HIV or hepatitis, then he can be recommended to undergo a special program called “Anti-AIDS”. The patient must understand that medical institutions have strict requirements for sterility. In dentistry, they use only disposable instruments, which also includes drills.
How to overcome fear
The fight against fear is carried out comprehensively in two directions:
- calm the body: take sedatives, do breathing exercises, play sports or relaxation - there are many methods, everyone chooses what suits him best;
- calm the mind: look at the root of fear and explain to yourself that there is nothing to be afraid of.
The first point implies an individual approach, so we cannot give specific recommendations: one person is soothed by chamomile baths, and another by a forty-minute run at six in the morning.
Many people benefit from friendly support and the opportunity to get distracted. In this case, ask one of your family or friends to accompany you: firstly, during cheerful chatter you will not be able to plunge into frightening thoughts, and secondly, your accompanying person will provide you with insurance in case at the last moment you want to cancel the appointment or Because of fear, you will forget the doctor's recommendations.
If you are used to relying on yourself or want to deal with fear once and for all, then you will have to dig deeper and figure out what exactly frightens you so much at the dentist.
What are patients afraid of?
The most common fears can be divided into 4 groups.
Fear of pain
The most popular is also the most baseless. Thanks to modern drugs and equipment, today dental treatment is almost painless. The maximum discomfort is caused by the injection of anesthetic. If you do not agree to endure this, ask your doctor to apply topical anesthesia before the injection.
Against fear of pain - confidence in reliable pain relief
To cope with your fear of pain, try:
- Read about anesthesia in dentistry. You will learn that “freezing” does not block the pain itself, but the nerve impulses, and within an hour (the average duration of the anesthetic effect), the brain simply does not receive signals about pain, which means you do not feel it;
- notify the doctor about your phobia: if necessary, you will be offered an additional dose of pain medication, and all manipulations will be performed with maximum attention to your well-being.
By the way, some people are afraid not of toothache, but of discomfort in other parts of the body. For example, sitting for a long time in an uncomfortable position can cause neck pain, especially if there are disorders in the cervical spine. The solution is obvious: tell the doctor about the problem area, and they will select a comfortable chair position for you, add a pillow, or take a rest break.
What if dental phobia cannot be eliminated?
If the patient experiences severe fear that cannot be eliminated, sedation is the best option. This is the name of the procedure that allows you to put the patient into sleep, during which he will not experience any discomfort, but will wake up with healthy teeth. This approach is becoming increasingly popular, especially in pediatric dentistry. It is important to understand that the situation has improved greatly over the past decade. Natadent dentistry has a wide range of local and general anesthesia products. Almost any manipulation in the oral cavity involves pain relief, so the days of painful dental treatment are a thing of the past. The best way to understand this and overcome dental phobia forever is to visit the dentist more often in order to promptly identify and eliminate any dental problems in the initial stages.
Fear of the unknown
Imagine: a doctor frowns, shakes his head sadly, and then calls his colleagues to look into your mouth, and everyone starts using incomprehensible terms... Even the most courageous patient will feel out of place!
Against fear of the unknown - awareness
If it is important for you to control the process and understand all the doctor’s actions, try:
- study the treatment plan in your case. Find out how caries is treated and veneers are installed, and what awaits you when getting prosthetics or tooth extraction. This way you will have an idea of what the doctor is doing now and what stage you are at now;
- ask the doctor to tell you what manipulations you will have to do today, and also explain your actions in the process.
Interesting facts about scary things
Are you afraid to have your teeth treated? If yes, then especially for you we have collected the most common fears associated with dentistry, as well as facts that will allow you to overcome them.
- I'm afraid to have my teeth treated during pregnancy - it could harm the baby . This is one of the most dangerous fears, since any rotten tooth, even if it does not hurt, is a source of chronic infection, which can easily penetrate the child and cause serious congenital health problems. Ideally, teeth should be treated at the preconception stage, but if a woman is already pregnant and needs dental treatment, then it is absolutely impossible to refuse it. Modern dentistry has tools and materials that are absolutely safe for the health of both mother and baby.
- I’m afraid of pain at the dentist, but I’m even more afraid of treating my teeth with an injection - what if the injection itself becomes painful or doesn’t work . This fear originates from a time when anesthetics were extremely imperfect. Previously, the usual Novocaine or Lidocaine was used for pain relief, which required a fairly large dosage, did not act immediately, and the duration of their effect was very short. Modern drugs, such as Articaine (in Ultracaine, Ubestezin, Septanest) and Mepivacaine (in Scandonest) require minimal dosages for treatment, are highly effective and have a long-lasting effect. In addition, they are safe and can be used in people with various pathologies of the cardiovascular system and even in children or pregnant women.
- I'm afraid to remove the nerve from the tooth, but it hurts . Ignoring the symptoms of pulpitis can lead to serious consequences, including tooth loss. Depulpation or removal of the dental nerve is one of the stages in the treatment of such pathology. Until recently, such a procedure lasted for several days and was extremely painful: the doctor opened the dental canals and the cavity of the tooth root, put arsenic in them, put a temporary filling and released the patient until the next visit. In 2-3 days, the dental nerve had to die, and this process was often accompanied by excruciating pain that could not be relieved even with strong painkillers. Today there is no need to carry out such a procedure. Modern local anesthetics allow you to remove the nerve within 30 minutes and without the slightest discomfort.
- I want to whiten my teeth, but I'm afraid that the whitening procedure is unsafe for the enamel . The fear of treating teeth darkening using Air flow, Opalescence, White Light or Zoom techniques appeared among the population not very long ago. Many people want to give their teeth a white tint, but are afraid that their teeth will be exposed to chemicals. Modern whitening technologies are safe when carried out correctly. In order to get a guaranteed positive result, you should choose a clinic with extensive experience, which has modern equipment, certified consumables and only positive reviews from real clients.
- I need to treat caries, but I'm afraid to drill my teeth . Preparation or drilling of teeth using a noisy drill is one of the horrors of Soviet dentistry that many remember. And it is because of this sound that many people put off visiting the dentist. But modern clinics can offer alternative options: chemical and ultrasonic tooth preparation. Such techniques are absolutely silent and do not cause discomfort or pain. They are also effective and allow the doctor to fully clean carious cavities and fill defects in dental tissue.
- The doctor insists on replacing the front tooth with a dental implant, but I am afraid of such a procedure . Dental implantation or implantation of an artificial tooth root into bone tissue is one of the most modern procedures that allows you to restore lost teeth. Implants are highly aesthetic, they are durable (they do not have to be replaced every 5-10 years) and completely replenish the dentition. Implantation technologies are developed very precisely and operations are always carried out after computer modeling - i.e. The approach to each patient is always individual. In addition, the implantation is carried out only under anesthesia and after the engraftment process it is not felt at all.
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As can be seen from the article, fear of dentists is a very common phenomenon that can and should be combated. The main thing is not to let everything take its course and not to forget that it is much easier to keep your teeth healthy if you regularly visit the dentist and follow all his recommendations.
Fear of judgment and criticism
You know you've lost your teeth. Or you are embarrassed about your bite. In a word, you consider your situation terrible and are afraid that the doctor will begin to gasp or curse. And you won’t be able to justify yourself, because there is cotton wool and a saliva ejector in your mouth!
Against shame and embarrassment – the Client’s position
If you are afraid of the medical staff's reaction to your "horrible" case, try the following:
- Look on the Internet for photographs of patients with the same problem as you. You will see that it can be much worse;
- remember that the doctor most likely saw the same thing, only not in pictures, but in person, and your caries is unlikely to shock him;
- know that criticism from a doctor is an indicator of his lack of professionalism. And the formula “the customer is always right” has not been canceled. Therefore, today there are almost no boorish doctors left; they have long been supplanted by experienced and tactful specialists. These are the ones who work at PROPRIKUS!
Fear of high prices
You have been told the cost of treatment, but you are not entirely sure how much you will have to pay. After all, these dentists always have pitfalls, due to which the price can double! Have you set a certain budget, but suddenly you have to significantly exceed it?
This really happens. A striking example is the treatment of malocclusion with braces. It is impossible to predict the exact result, so no one will tell you the final amount in advance. Another thing is aligners. The result is known even before treatment begins. And the cost, accordingly, too.
But even with ordinary treatment of caries, additional expenses may arise. Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely insure yourself against such a situation. But you can do the following:
- During the preliminary cost calculation, ask to take into account possible complications, and focus on this maximum amount;
- Use a tax deduction to get back some of the money spent on treatment. Detailed instructions here.
