Overcoming Your Dental Fear

It starts with a minor pain when you chew and grows to an
excruciating toothache Or you bite down and get a sharp pain
that feels like it is stabbing the whole side of your face into
your eye “Oh, no”, you think “Now I’ll have to go to a
dentist”
We need our teeth to eat, to enhance our smile But we fear
dentists more than any other doctor
Why is that?
To overcome our fear of dentists, we should look into your level
of fear Rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10 for your level of
agreement for the following:
· The night before your dental appointment, you feel uneasy and
anxious thinking about your appointment and want to cancel the
appointment
· You enter the dental office one limb at a time, dreading each
step that brings you closer
· Your blood pressure goes sky high the minute the dental chair
is reclined
· You feel helpless, anxious, and/or out of control in the
dental situation
· The sight or thought of a dental injection brings up fight or
flight reactions
· You feel you can’t breathe when dental instruments are put in
your mouth
· You wish you could just pass out and wake up after it’s all
over
If you scored yourself a 5 or more for any of the above, you
have dental anxiety Discuss the points you scored highest on
with your dentist and his assistants It is important that the
whole dental staff takes your fears seriously and listens to you
with compassion
Now, where does that fear come from? See is any of these sound
familiar:
· I had a terrible experience in the past with a dentist Past
careless comments have made me feel uncomfortable
· My teeth embarrass me I am afraid that my dentist will think
my problems are from dental neglect and I fear ridicule and/or
belittlement
· “I’d rather have a root canal than” and other dental
analogies instill fear in me, as does scary portrayals of
dentists and dental procedures in movies, magazines and other
media
· When I tell someone I’m going to the dentist, they share their
‘horror’ stories with me
· My parents were afraid of the dentist and passed that fear on
to me
· I can’t relax in the dental chair It’s uncomfortable, lays
down too far I fear loss of control I panic I feel strapped
down
· I hate shots! The dental needle looks a foot long to me
Yes, there are some dentists that are not compassionate, gentle
and caring and a few bad apples can spoil the whole barrel if
you’re already anxious
There are many more dentists today than there have been in the
past If your dentist makes you uncomfortable in any way, feel
perfectly justified in finding another If his staff is not
compassionate, handles you roughly, or belittles your fear, tell
your dentist If it is not handled to your satisfaction, find
another dentist But remember, just because he/she has a great
personality does not mean they are the world’s best at their
work Isn’t that true in all professions?
So now that you know what causes your fear, what can you do
about it?
· Express your fear to your dentist and staff and expect their
help in overcoming your fear Remember you are not their only
patient with fear and they will admire your resolve If they
laugh you off, they’re not compassionate Find another dentist
· Not all dentists and/or staff are rough handling their
patients Dental procedures are not supposed to hurt If your
dentist hurts you, jerks your head into position, seems
impatient or unprofessional in any way find another dentist
(And report this one to your State Dental Board)
· Make a conscious effort to overcome your fear Set your mind
to it Talk it out to yourself and realize that it can be
overcome
· During your appointment, take deep breaths and let them out
slowly
· Remember, the needle itself is not the major cause of shot
discomfort, but it is the pressure and volume of the numbing
agent being injected Try to see it as a help to you instead of
a pain to be endured
Stop the cycle Fear is learned and can be un-learned You can
pass on these fear-reducing techniques when your friends or
family develop a toothache and express their fears to you You
CAN overcome your fear with the right resolve, dentist, and
staff helping you

Tags | analogies, anxiety, appointment, compassion, dental, dentists, instruments, Magazine, neglect, portrayals, pressure, ridicule, situation, stories