Five Common Reasons For Dental Phobia

Some of the more common issues that concern nervous dental patients.

Having a ‘fear’ of seeing your dentist is not uncommon. In fact, it is quite possible that a number of dentists themselves suffer from this when they are due to receive treatment! As medical professionals though, we have no wish to cause patients concern and our aim is to help you with any teeth or gum related issues that you have, and increasingly to help you improve your smile too.

We are aware that some people have anxieties around their visit and we do all that we can to help our nervous patients. A gentle and calm approach works well for most people and we try to make the dental environment, including the waiting room, as calming as possible. Our staff also undergo regular training on this issue, along with any general dental innovations that come along.

So what are the key issues that concern nervous dental patients? Let us take a look in today’s blog.

The appointment

It might start quite mildly but some people start to experience symptoms even before they arrive at our Bedford dental practice. This can start several days beforehand, often with a slight feeling of impending ‘doom’. For some people it doesn’t get any worse, but for others this can build as the appointment gets closer. Occasionally, people cancel their appointments for this reason, perhaps hoping to build up confidence before attending next time. Others may cancel and not return, well at least until they are in a lot of pain with a toothache or similar and they can no longer wait.

If you feel yourself getting anxious to this degree as your appointment approaches, please call The Dental Centre Bedford and let us know. We will do what we can to help you keep your appointment.

The ‘needle’

Fear of the needle used in a local anaesthetic is a very common one. Few people enjoy this experience but it is, of course, essential for many treatments. The pain you would feel without it would simply be too much to bear. However much you dislike it, the short period of applying the local anaesthetic via the needle means that you can receive treatment in relative comfort.

In reality, you barely feel the needle as it enters the skin, beyond a small ‘pinch’ like experience anyway. The main ‘discomfort’ that you feel is the anaesthetic as it meets the bloodstream. This only lasts for a few seconds before you start to feel numb in the area and the treatment can go ahead.

Fear of pain

Perhaps the biggest cause of concern for most patients is that the treatment that they are due to receive will hurt. This feeling is likely to be exaggerated due to the fact that all of our main senses; sight, smell and hearing, are located so close to where the treatment takes place.

There is little doubt that most invasive treatments won’t actually be enjoyable but the amount of pain that a patient expects to feel is nearly always greatly exaggerated. Once the local anaesthetic has taken effect, what you are most likely to feel are the various vibrations of the drill during the treatment of cavities, and, during extractions, the loosening of the tooth from the bone socket for example.

Even if it feels like if the dentist drills for one more second, the drill will go too far, it won’t. Our dentists have years of training and we can assure you that you are in safe and experienced hands.

Loss of control

When you are receiving treatment, you might feel that you are surrendering control to the dentist, which in effect you are. Some people struggle with this even while accepting that only the dentist can resolve the issue at hand. Interestingly, loss of control is also often cited in another common phobia; the fear of flying. As with dental care, you wouldn’t really want to have to fly the plane yourself so here we simply do have to trust the experts.

At The Dental Centre Bedford, we aim to communicate with our patients throughout their treatment. Some patients find it easier to take a few short breaks during the procedure and feel that this gives them an element of control. Our dentists are happy to do this of course and by raising your hand, a brief pause can help to make the process easier for you.

Embarrassment

One of the more surprising reasons that some people avoid going to the dentist is that they are embarrassed to do so. This is usually either about the state of their teeth, perhaps not having looked after them as they should, or sometimes even due to halitosis which is often caused by gum disease. Please remember that dentists are medical professionals and, as you would show a doctor an embarrassing problem, you shouldn’t let them stop you seeing a dentist either. If your teeth are in poor condition, we are here to help you by restoring any we can and offering advice for future care. If you have halitosis, our job is to help you with this where it is caused by gum disease. Far too many people hide these problems as much as they can instead of getting help. That is why we are here, so please do not be embarrassed.

If you are nervous about your dental appointments, we hope that this blog has helped a little. If you would like more information about how we help phobic patients or would like to book an appointment with one of our friendly dentists, please call our Bedford clinic on 01234 819868. We look forward to helping you.