Overcoming dental anxiety is very important while receiving dental treatments. A lot of patients begin to experience dental anxieties once they walk into the dental facility for their dental visits.
The importance of overcoming dental anxiety cannot be over emphasised. Many dental visits have been rescheduled simply due to the fact the patients are so nervous and wouldn’t want the dentist to touch them.
Dental Anxiety cuts across all age brackets. However, it is common among children, young adults and women.
What is Dental Anxiety?
Dental anxiety is the fear of visiting a dentist or accepting to undergo a dental procedure. This fear causes a lot of stress to the patient.
People with dental anxiety tend to avoid going to a dental clinic. Sometimes, when they manage to be present for their dental appointments, they are so scared to receive dental care.
Children who have a very good experience during their first dental visit usually show a good attitude and do better in overcoming their dental anxiety compared to those whose first dental visit was not such a great experience.
The same thing applies to adults. Adults who have had a great experience with respect to their dental care don’t usually have problems overcoming their dental anxiety if at all it does occur. However, adult dental patients who have had eventful dental visits are likely to experience dental anxiety in their subsequent visits and may also have a hard time overcoming it.
Consequences of Dental Anxiety
Dental anxiety can have some unpleasant outcomes, especially when it prevents the dental patient from receiving dental care.
Here are some of the problems that may arise with difficulty in overcoming dental anxiety.
Avoidance of Dental Care
People who have difficulty in overcoming their dental anxiety are prone to avoiding dental care. They won’t visit the dentist even when they have obvious dental concerns or problems.
This gives room for the problem to get worse causing a decline in the individual’s dental health.
Delayed Dental Visit
Early presentation in the hospital is very important in health care. Health challenges with early diagnosis often have good treatment outcomes.
Anxious dental patients are very likely to present late for treatment, when the situation has worsened. Their fear of dental treatment may make them stall seeking for treatment until when the situation goes out of hand.
Some tooth extractions wouldn’t have happened if the dental patients were able to overcome their anxiety and sought for dental care early enough. Some hospitalisations due to dental problems may not have been necessary if the persons involved presented early.
One thing you must understand with dental care is that the more the situation worsens the more it will cost to treat the problem. Therefore, early presentation saves money.
Low Self-esteem
Overcoming dental anxiety is necessary for a person to maintain good oral hygiene. One of the problems that arise when people are unable to receive dental care because of their anxiety is that their dental health can begin to deteriorate resulting in poor oral hygiene. This may make them become concerned about the appearance of their teeth and may also affect their self confidence, especially when relating with others.
When it comes to overcoming dental anxiety, the dental patient, the dentist, and parents or guardians have roles to play.
Individuals’ Roles in Overcoming Dental Anxiety
There are certain things you can do as an individual that will help you overcome dental anxiety. They include:
Seeking for explanation about the dental procedure your are to undergo
One of the reasons why some people seem not to be making progress in overcoming their dental anxiety is because they already have a preconceived notion that the dental treatment they are about to undergo is going to cause them severe pain or cause more harm than good.
Some of the dental anxieties originate from fear of needles. Many dental patients hold the opinion that for every dental treatment, they must receive local anaesthesia.
This is why it is important you seek to understand the dental procedure your dentist wants to carry out on you.
Feel free to ask the dentist questions about the treatment you are about to receive. Let him know what you might be thinking about the treatment and the expectations you have, and allow him to address them.
Not all dental problems will require tooth extraction or other forms of stressful dental treatments. It will interest you to know that some dental problems can be handled with simple counselling, oral health education, or even oral hygiene instructions.
When you understand what your dentist wants to do for you and how he intends to carry it out, it will help you to relax, especially, when you find out that the treatment will not be as stressful as you feared.
Using Distraction Technique
The reason you are having dental anxiety could be that you are so preoccupied with scary things you have heard about dental treatment. If this is your case, you need to find something that can distract your focus from the dental environment.
Listening to good music will take your focus away from the thoughts causing you anxiety. This helps to calm your nerves and relax your muscles.
Considering Going for Dental Appointments with a Third Party
Being surrounded by the dental team can make it even more challenging in overcoming dental anxiety. To be able to deal with the tension associated with being alone with the dental care team, you may consider attending your appointments with someone you trust and feel free with. This could be your spouse, friend, sibling, or a close relative.
Having someone with you, who encourages you will help you relax during your dental visits.
Exposing Children to the Dental Clinic Early
Dental anxiety is quite common among children. An uncooperative child makes it difficult for the dentist to carry out procedures. One of the reasons a child may not be comfortable in the dental clinic is because nearly everything going on in the clinic is strange to him or her. They are not used to the dental environment.
Children who were exposed early to the dental environment tend to be relaxed and cooperative with the dental team.
A child does not have to develop a dental problem before visiting a dentist. Taking your children for a routine dental check is very important. It helps them not to associate dental care with pain. This also helps them in overcoming dental anxiety in their subsequent visits.
Roles of Dentists in Helping their Patients Overcome Dental Anxiety
The dentist has a huge role to play in helping anxious patients deal with their dental anxiety.
Apart from carrying out dental procedures, the dentist also has training in allay the anxieties of their patients. This they can do in a number of ways.
- The dental clinic should be designed in such a way that it has a friendly ambience and does not trigger anxiety in patients.
- Avoid exposing dental instruments where patients can throw glances at them. Such glances are usual triggers of anxiety. As much as possible, patients should not see dental syringes, needles and extraction instruments b
- The dentist should be calm and explain the patient’s diagnosis, treatment plans to them and ensure they understand. For children, the tell-show-do technique is effective in allaying their anxiety and increasing their cooperation.
Conclusion
Anxiety and phobia towards dental care is common and can hamper dental treatments. That is why the subject of overcoming dental anxiety is very essential in dental care. If you are experiencing dental anxiety, the methods already enumerated are effective, and I do hope you find them helpful.
