insideKENT Magazine Issue 31 - October 2014 | Page 79

HEALTH+WELLNESS

Tackling Dental Phobia
NOBODY NECESSARILY LIKES GOING TO THE DENTIST, BUT FOR SOME PEOPLE, JUST THE
THOUGHT OF AN UPCOMING DENTAL VISIT CAN TRIGGER MANY MIXED UNPLEASANT
FEELINGS SUCH AS ANXIETY AND SLEEPLESSNESS. THESE PEOPLE ARE COMMONLY KNOWN
TO SUFFER FROM DENTAL PHOBIA, WHICH IS GENERALLY THE TERM USED TO DEFINE A
FEAR OF DENTISTS AND DENTAL WORK.

Dr. Charlie Attariani D.M.D

Deriving from the Greek word 'phóbos', the term
translates to mean an extreme or irrational fear
of, or aversion to something. This kind of fear is
often exaggerated and disabling, and the sufferer
will try to avoid it by any means possible.
According to the British Dental Association,
around 25% of the British population suffers from
some sort of anxiety before visiting the dentist,
and around 12% of us suffer from extreme dental
anxiety and fear.
Dental phobia comes in many forms, but to name
a few, there's the fear of the needle, fear of the
pain associated with treatment, fear of the drill,
fear of feeling powerless and/or fear of choking.
Patients can experience one or more of these
feelings and in many cases, this leads to the
client missing their appointment or becoming
severely distressed during their visit. Sometimes,
intense fear may make it near impossible for the
dentist to fulfill the treatment.
However, where do these phobias originate from?
There is no solid answer here, as these feelings
vary from person to person, but for many patients
it's often related to a previous bad experience.
While some patients have not had bad
experiences themselves, they may of heard horror
stories from others. Many patients nowadays are
using Internet-based message boards, blogs and
social networking sites to keep in touch, which
ultimately can lead to false rumours surrounding
certain treatments.

Dr. Golnar Hassirian D.M.D

Also, parents who themselves are very frightened
of certain treatments, can enforce that fear on
their children when bringing them in for checkups
or treatments.
So how do you ov W&6