Dental Association,  Dental Care,  Dental Clinic

HOW NOT TO BE AFRAID OF THE DENTIST

For many people, going to the dentist has turned into obsessive fear. At one thought, the heart begins to beat faster and the specific smell of drugs seems. This is a subconscious reaction that became entrenched in adults during a period when there were no good painkillers and methods of dental treatment were rather primitive. 

To understand how not to be afraid of the dentist and overcome the fear of a visit, you need to seek advice from a psychologist or look for an answer yourself, replacing negative impressions with positive ones by visiting a modern, well-equipped clinic.

WHAT IS DENTOPHOBIA

Toothache is considered one of the most severe and it is impossible to cope with it without a doctor. Delaying the trip to the dentist, a person often only aggravates the situation.

Dentophobia is the fear of contact with the dentist and the very visit to the dental office. The most common cause of phobia is emotional upheaval. At the same time, any, the most innocuous procedure, causes a subconscious reaction, manifested by somatic disorders, up to loss of consciousness. Abstract advice on how to stop being afraid of dentists and overcome fear will not help in this case. We’ll have to identify the species, the source of the fear and deal with it purposefully.

TYPES OF DENTOPHOBIA

There are 3 options, depending on the occurrence and symptoms:

  • Congenital. The rarest and most difficult to correct. It is based on a general fear of medical procedures, from examination to testing.
  • Acquired. It is observed in most people who have a negative experience in the treatment and extraction of teeth. The violation lends itself to therapy, but first you have to understand the causes of the appearance of the phobia and understand how to overcome the fear of the dentist – on your own or with the help of a psychologist.
  • Imaginary fear is more common in children. They have never been to a doctor, but they have come up with many horror stories about this, which they themselves are afraid of. But this problem is the easiest to fix. It is enough to visit a qualified specialist in a relaxed atmosphere with your parents. In adults, an imaginary phobia develops with prolonged non-attendance at dentistry.

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF FEAR

Many begin to give different advice, hearing from friends the phrase “I’m afraid of the dentist and dentists in general, but I don’t know what to do.” They are correct in the general direction, but do not take into account the specifics of the origin of fear. To successfully overcome it, it is required to find the prerequisites for its appearance. Most often they are:

  • high sensitivity of the oral cavity to any manipulation, leading to a subconscious expectation of severe pain;
  • a recent negative experience with a doctor visit;
  • panic attacks regularly occurring in a person against the background of a labile nervous system or in case of hormonal imbalance;
  • gag reflex at the sight of dental instruments;
  • irrational fear of contracting an infection through mirrors and probes;
  • fear of the need for course treatment;
  • child psychological trauma.

SIGNS THAT YOU ARE AFRAID OF A DENTIST

Regardless of the form of dentophobia, the symptoms are almost the same. The main ones are reflex muscle tension, increased sweating, increased heart rate when the clinic is mentioned or the need for examination by a doctor. Depending on the individual characteristics of the psyche, there are dilated pupils for no apparent reason, slight tremors of the extremities, diarrhea, surges in blood pressure, intestinal colic.

When a specialist approaches, unmotivated aggression, vomiting, and refusal of any contact may appear. With the awareness of relative helplessness before the need for examination, a pre-fainting state sets in, turning into a full-fledged fainting, accompanied by severe headaches.

You will need to give a person the skills of psychological self-regulation to relieve stress. There are many ways, the main thing is to choose an effective one and test it in practice, getting rid of a negative reaction.

HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF THE DENTIST

Dentophobia refers to painful conditions. A person is really bad on a physical level and persuasion is indispensable here. The earlier the problem is recognized, the more successful and faster the condition will be corrected. It is recommended to use a combined approach, where medication support at the level of sedatives is combined with other methods of stabilizing mental balance.

But remember that the use of any medication should be supervised by a doctor.

  • Peoples council
  • Psychological attitude
  • Breathing techniques to relieve stress.

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