If you have been tolerating that excruciating pain in your tooth but still do not want to go the dentist then be assured, it’s not only you, there are many people who fear going to the dentist. According to an estimate, one in five people fear visiting the dentist. It may sound weird but it is true. The spectrum ranges from selected few who do not dread at all to those who are slightly afraid to those who are so much afraid of a dentist that they will not go to him despite the intolerable pain and associated problems. People on such extreme suffer from dental phobia.
Dental phobia is more than anxiety and has its own set of symptoms. People who suffer from dental phobia know fully well that their fear is irrational but find it hard to overcome the fear. The signs of phobia include trouble sleeping at night before visiting dentist, escalating nervousness while waiting for the dentist, feeling ill at the thought of visiting doctor, intense uneasiness or experiencing difficulty in breathing when dental instruments are placed in the mouth, etc.
The reasons behind this kind of phobia include fear of pain rising from either some unpleasant experience in the past or by hearing tales of pain and horror from others, fear of injections being administered in the mouth during treatment, fear of anesthetic side effects like dizziness, nausea, etc, feeling of helplessness and loss of control along with the fear of being judged by someone.
The key to ease off the phobia lies in talking frankly about your fears with your doctor. This will put your dentist in a better position to deal with you delicately, keeping in mind your needs and fears. If your dentists does not pay attention to your fears, the best way out is to find a sensitive dentists who cares for patients’ emotional and mental well being as well.
