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Dental Anxiety Dental Phobes, Dental Weirdos... and all of us in between
by Dr. John F. Miller DDS
Welcome back to summer folks, isn’t it marvelous? Now, I’m writing this during some pretty fantastic late-May weather and hopefully June (when 406 Women hits the streets) can follow suit and validate my current enthusiasm. Warm sunshine is like CPR to my powder-withdrawn soul and I have a feeling this summer is going to be one for the books. Join me out there and share your healthy Montana smile with me. Disclaimer: The following references to dental treatment do not include routine teeth cleanings, because those are spectacular! As a dentist I know that receiving a dental procedure is no picnic. Somewhere in the future I imagine a young man coming to my house to take Nayvee, my daughter, to the Prom. Let’s call him Fred. “Now Fred,” I’ll say, “I’m a dentist and I’m curious about your approach towards oral health.” Fred will respond, “Well geez Mister
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Miller I love going to the dentist.” At which point I tell Fred I’m concerned about his taking my daughter out that evening because based on his statement he is one of two things: a liar or a weirdo. Now there are those outlying individuals who truly love dentistry and I mean no offense when I say, “that’s a little odd.” The majority of us, a statistician would label us “the Norm”, don’t mind dentistry but would just rather not. If the dictionary represented a list of things we would like to do Dentistry would start with a Z. Lastly, we have individuals with a real fear of anything relating to dentistry. I cannot call these folks outliers because they represent a statistically significant portion of the population. I invite everyone to continue reading, but the remainder of this article is aimed at this latter group. A hot topic on a national level currently in dentistry is the topic of Access to Care. In other words, we are engaged
in the exploration of treatment barriers that are preventing people from receiving the care they need. One of these recognized barriers is Dental Anxiety/ Fear affecting an estimated 10 to 20% of the population. I really want the reader to think about what I’m going to say next: “It will never hurt or cost less that it does right now, and it will never be easier for your Dentist to fix than it is right now.”
that visiting the dentist is negative in any way. A bad dental experience can echo through generations. A grandparent’s unpleasant dental visit in the 1940’s can be the cause of young Bella’s dental fear in 2014. Dentistry, like any other industry, has come a long way. Thanks to the many advances in dentistry made over the years, all of today's dental procedures should be pain-free.
What causes Dental Anxiety?
Another common cause of dental anxiety is the feeling of helplessness and loss of control during a dental procedure. It's common for people to feel these emotions considering the situation, sitting in a dental chair with your mouth wide open, unable to see what's going on. If you suffer from this type of anxiety you need to actively participate in a discussion with their dentist about your treatment. Ask your dentist to explain what's happening at every stage of the procedure. This way you can mentally prepare for what's to come. Another helpful strategy is to establish
Fear of pain. To keep things brief, I’ll just say that unpleasant dental visits are the main contributing factor for this type of dental anxiety. The actual patient can make these visits themselves, or it is also very common for a young patient to have dental fear because of experiences shared with them by a relative or friend. Because of this we encourage all parents to never mention the word S-H-O-T or N-E-E-D-LE, and to never convey to their child