Sun City Dentists Help Patients Overcome A Fear Of Dental Treatment, Part 1

By Author: Kevin Gasser
Total Articles: 60
Comment this article

That annual dental appointment isn’t exactly top on your list of things to look forward to. You might not mind going to a Sun City dentist, but it’s something most regard as a chore. Then there is that 5% to 8% of people who suffer from a crippling phobia of the dentist and/or dental treatment. For these souls, a visit to the dentist spells emotional and mental disaster… Think of the thing you are most afraid of and the fear it elicits in you when you are in close proximity to it. That’s what dental phobics deal with when facing their annual appointment. Or do they?




Statistics of Dental Phobia in the United States




Nope! That 5% to 8% statistic refers to Americans who actually avoid dental treatment because of their terrible fear. A further 20%, as a consequence of terrible anxiety, will only actually go to the Sun City dentist when absolutely necessary, such as for a dental emergency or to remedy pain relating to tooth decay.




What this all means is that a significant portion of the population avoids the dentist ...
... because they are incredibly anxious or even terrified of the prospect. In doing so, they are missing out on the critical preventative care that is so necessary to keep their teeth and gums in good health. “Ironically, without prevention and early diagnosis, these people are more likely to suffer from dental problems that require more complex, invasive and expensive procedures to fix,” explains an All On 4 dental implants specialist in Sun City. “And these are the exact procedures that these people are probably most afraid of!”




If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you relate to all this. So, what is the cause of dental phobia and why do so many people tend to experience a degree of anxiety?




The Cause of Dental Anxiety and/or Phobia




The majority (67%) of patients who have a degree of dental phobia or anxiety explain that it’s a result of a bad personal experience. This prejudice usually stems from childhood, when (1) dentistry was not as conscious of patient comfort as it is now and (2) you were less likely to understand what was happening and how it could benefit you in the long run. Another 33% of patients experience dental phobia as a result of extraneous psychological issues or bad experiences they may have endured, such as domestic violence, abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders and substance abuse.




“When you look really close at dental phobia, it’s not exactly the dentist a patient is afraid of,” says an all on 4 dental implants Sun City specialist. “It’s the prospect of being powerless and without control. When you’re sitting in the chair with the dentist and his or her assistant hovering over you, it puts you in a position where you can barely move or talk. You can feel quite powerless and even though the Sun City dentist is doing you a whole lot of good, the irrational mind can shoot off at a hundred miles per hour to panic Ville. It’s funny, in fact, that for most fearful patients, it’s a lack of control that scares them… not the prospect of pain or even needles.”




The Great News…




Amongst the dental healthcare community, there is a much keener consciousness and respect for patient comfort nowadays. Sun City dentists prioritize the physical and psychological well being of their patients and some even offer special treatment for the truly phobic. With each successful appointment, those who once couldn’t even drive past a dentist without becoming shaky and sweaty can now become more and more comfortable, which is excellent news for your oral health.




Stay Tuned for Part 2




To read more about how dental phobia can be treated or overcome, and to hear some of the important tips Sun City dentists have for coping with anxiety, stay tuned for the second installment of this four-part article series.




About the Author




Rozar Peter works with a renowned Sun City dentist for long. He likes people to overcome a fear of dental treatment and wants to share some tips on all on 4 dental implants in Sun City.