Practicing general dental care us the freedom and ability, far more than our more specialized colleagues, to inform patients on education and knowledge about dentistry. As such, we have the ability to talk about subjects that many other professionals may avoid, like fear. Fear caused by needing to visit a dentist is often the elephant in the room causing many people to bypass the need they have for general dentistry treatments. Dental fear is something common to people all over the world. In fact, we know that anywhere there is a doctor practicing general dentistry, you will find people who are afraid to see them. In just the United States, there is a large group of people who know they need dental attention and that they could have a healthier mouth and better oral health if they only came in to see a dentist but are not able to do so because they are afraid. This accounts nearly 26 percent of the population. An additional 9 percent to 20 percent admit to having anxiety, ranging from the mild to full-blown panic attacks when they have to schedule and come in to see their dentist.
Using dental care to fight dental fears
Since we practice general dentistry, one of our goals is to empower you to overcome some of this fear, which will make taking care of your teeth a much less trying ordeal for you. We have found that much of the fear springs from ideas people develop that are far from the truth and allowed to fester, so we have come up with three things you can do to help fight your own fears. The very first thing you need to do is identify what exactly it is that you are afraid of. Is it the needles, or are you afraid of the lack of control you experience in the dentist chair? Are you afraid of pain, or the idea that we are going to need to work in your mouth? Once you have identified specifically what is causing your fear, we can isolate it and work through or around it.
The second thing you will need to do is learn about dental care. Education is the key to fighting most fears, and a fear of general dentistry is no exception. The more you understand what we are doing, which is where we are happy to help with the tools we use and the amazing safety precautions we take, the less likely you are to be afraid. Finally, and this is the hardest thing for most patients to do, we ask that you commit to visiting the dentist at least twice a year for regularly scheduled examinations and cleanings. What this does is create a relationship of trust between you and your dentist, where you know that there is nothing to fear with this individual medical provider. Additionally, visiting on a bi-annual basis creates a sense of familiarity, which will be very useful in the event that we have to do something a little more intense than teeth cleaning. Regular visits can actually stave off the need for emergency or restorative visits, which tend to be longer and more stressful.