There are millions of people who are afraid of the dentist, a situation known as dental phobia or odontophobia.
The main aim of this article is to offer you a series of simple and practical tips to help you overcome your fear of going to the dentist or, at the very least, to have a less traumatic experience every time you go to the dentist’s surgery.
Why is there a fear of going to the dentist?
Surely one of the reasons that make dental phobia one of the most common is due to the dental treatments that were performed in the past.
Fortunately, times have changed and advances in the field, such as the introduction of local anaesthesia, have made it possible that treatments are nowadays not only painless, but cause hardly any discomfort at all.
However, there are still many people who associate going to the dentist with pain and this makes it possible for dental phobia to continue to exist.
We must not forget that if we go to the dentist with fear, we will be much more aware of any detail and our perception of pain will be much higher.
How can we overcome dental phobia?
Overcoming a phobia is not an easy task, especially if we are talking about a phobia that has been with us for many years. Surely, the most effective alternative to overcome fear is to have several positive experiences facing the thing that scares you.
In the case of going to the dentist, it should be noted that these treatments are practically painless, so, logically, the fear of the dentist should gradually disappear as we expose ourselves to the specialist.
An important detail that can help you to be calmer during the sessions is to discuss your fears openly with the specialist.
Contrary to what many people think, dental phobia does not only affect children, but many adults are afraid of going to the dentist, so you should not be ashamed of this situation.
Acknowledging your fear will reassure you and make you feel more comfortable and confident.
A día de hoy nos encontramos con espacios cómodos, bonitos y que incluyen una amplia variedad de actividades a realizar durante la sesión. Incluso los pacientes tendrán la posibilidad de ver la televisión o escuchar música mientras está siendo tratado.
¿Verdad que ahora te da algo menos de miedo ir al dentista?
Odontophobia in children
Leaving aside the dental issue, we know that children tend to have a lot of nerves when they have to visit the doctor, whatever the speciality, which is why as parents we must ensure that we take our children to a place that has a good reputation as well as adequate facilities for dental services for children.
Many times our children are afraid of the unknown (as are we) and the parent’s job is to try to explain to the child that what is going to happen is for the best and that there is nothing to be afraid of.
Tips that are recommended for adults also apply to children.
Assisted Sedation and Dental Phobia
If we haven’t convinced you by now that dental phobia shouldn’t exist, it’s time to talk to you about assisted sedation, a technique that is currently in use and whose main objective is to relax the patient during dental treatments.
What does this technique consist of? Assisted sedation consists of applying relaxing drugs to the patient during the session, a quick and effective way of eliminating anxiety and fear.
Thanks to this process, dental phobia will be forgotten and therefore we are facing an effective solution for all those people who have panic to the dentist. However, we will not tire of telling you that this process is not necessary if we take into account that there are no painful dental treatments nowadays.
In order to become aware of the impact of dental phobia in today’s society, we must highlight that it is one of the main reasons why patients do not take care of their mouths, a situation that not only harms the patient’s oral aesthetics and function, but can also cause all kinds of problems in the rest of the body’s organs.
Considering this detail, it is clear that it is vitally important to overcome odontophobia and start seeing your dentist regularly.
Agenta tu primera cita con el dentista en Mexicali, México.
This post is purely informational and does not replace a consultation with the dentist in any way. Contact the smile agents team to schedule an appointment with one of the dentists at Smilers Dental Clinic.
