Fears and Phobias

Why are some people afraid of the dentist?

Although a fear of spiders may give it a run for its money; a fear of visiting the dentist is probably one of the most common phobias in the UK.

There are many possible reasons why this might be the case and in this blog we take a look at some of the possible reasons for this particular phobia and why it’s almost certainly nowhere near as bad as some may think.

Pain

Pain, or to be more precise, the fear of pain, is perhaps the main reason for dental phobia. This is interesting as, very often, the same people do not hold the same level of fear about an operation on their arm for example; but why should this be the case?

One thought is that dental work takes place right at the centre of our being, very close to our brain and most of our senses; sight, sound, taste etc. Because of its location, dental work magnifies these many-fold.

Whilst we wouldn’t be so glib as to advertise dental care as ‘fun’, the fear of pain is nearly always much worse than the results and we often see this look of relief on patients faces once the procedure is over and they realise that it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as perhaps they’d imagined.

With modern anaesthetics, pain prevention is much more successful than it used to be and there is no reason why anyone should feel pain in most cases, though understandably, with invasive procedures, some very slight discomfort may be felt.

The drill

The sound of the dental drill is also a common phobia. Whilst the ‘shrill’ sound of a whirring drill sends shivers down many people’s spines, it is more likely that this is in anticipation of the drilling that is to be done than the actual drill itself.

Some patients who travel to Alexandra Dental Care from Burton on Trent and Ashby De La Zouch, bring their mp3 players with them to enable them to block out this sound.

It is important though, not to have the sound at a level where you can’t hear the dentist as we may need to discuss aspects of a procedure with you as we work.

Loss of control

Less common but still affecting some people is the loss of control.

This is understandable and we are sure that many of us who have tried to steer an airplane from our seats will understand!

At Alexandra Dental Care though, you will be in the hands of professionals who fully understand how anxious patients feel. We will always discuss calmly with you what we are about to do and will respond should you indicate discomfort.

It is important to remember that we perform hundreds of procedures each month and have undergone many years of extensive training to give our patients the best results with the minimal amount of discomfort.

If, after reading the above, you feel that your dental fear is preventing you from having important treatment, please call Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347 and ask us about our treatment for nervous patients, including conscious sedation, which we are able to offer to help.

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