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Fear of the dentist

General / basic

Fear of the dentist is common. According to various surveys, three out of four respondents fear the dentist. Like every form of fear, fear of the dentist is nothing unusual at first. After all, there are certainly more pleasant situations than lying relatively helplessly on a folded back chair and letting someone fiddle in his mouth. However, around forty percent of the respondents postponed their visit to the dentist until they suffered severe pain. The fact that delaying the visit often aggravates the dental problems and thus the treatment is often overlooked. In about every twentieth, fear ultimately means that they no longer go to the dentist for fear of dental treatment. Such exaggerated fear can be attributed to various causes and is often not comprehensible for the environment. Sufferers often react with shame and restraint, there are numerous therapeutic options, approaches and options that can alleviate or overcome fear.

Christina Cherry

Fear of the dentist – tips against dental phobia

Everyone knows the queasy feeling before visiting the dentist, because the treatments are really not pleasant. But when the fear of visiting a dentist grows to panic, doctors speak of a so-called dental phobia, or dental phobia – the pathological fear of the dentist. Dental phobia has been a psychosomatic illness recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1997, but the causes are not yet fully understood.

Fear of the dentist – Article overview:

In European industrialized countries, it is estimated that around 10% of adults suffer from dental phobia. This does not mean the queasy feeling that affects almost everyone when they look at the treatment chair or when the drill is buzzing. Those affected simply see themselves unable to go to the dentist – sometimes for thirty years. In extreme cases, those affected prefer to swallow tons of painkillers and watch their teeth rot rather than go to the dentist.

Christina Cherry

Fear of the dentist - 7 tips against fear

Fear of the dentist – 7 tips against fear

The fear of the dentist is a common problem. One in ten in Germany suffers from oppressive feelings to a great extent when they have to go to the treatment chair. Some people are affected by real dental phobia and therefore avoid going to the doctor. But if you want to have healthy and well-groomed teeth in the long run, you have to see the dentist regularly. The following tips can help sufferers get a grip on their fears before and during the dentist’s visit.

When does one speak of a dental phobia?

  • the vibration and noise of the drill plus the pain associated with it,
  • see and feel the anesthetic injection,
  • the doctor enters the room (in a white coat),
  • the smells, sounds and visual stimuli in the waiting room,
  • the fear of the pain afterwards and
  • the fear of not opening your mouth.

Tip one: address the fear openly

People suffering from fear or phobia should not keep this to themselves. They can only be helped if they name their fears and dare to admit them. Phobia is not uncommon for the dentist before he starts work. However, he can only act accordingly and take the patient’s fear away if he is in the picture.

Christina Cherry

Afraid of the dentist

Fear of the dentist

Synonyms in a broader sense

Children at the dentist, dental phophy, childish fear of the dentist

The parents

The anxiety before the dentist is common.
This affects not only adults, but also children if they are not properly prepared for the dentist’s visit.

The parents are the role models for their children, so it is not surprising that their fear of the dentist is also passed on to the children. But visiting the dentist should be seen as a completely natural process of everyday life. Therefore, the children should get to know the dental practice as early as possible, even if they are still with them no Treatment is necessary.
Under no circumstances should a visit to the dentist be threatened as punishment. On the other hand, the indication that it would not hurt the dentist is harmful, since the child is then informed that the dentist may experience pain.

Christina Cherry

Afraid of drilling at the dentist? (Tips)

Afraid of drilling at the dentist?

Hello, I have to go to the dentist tomorrow because I have 2 small and 1 medium holes. I’m afraid of drilling because it always hurts so much. Do you have any tips on how to survive this better??

5 answers

Do you do with or without anesthesia?
Try to get lost in thought. Think of past embarrassments, problems, arguments or or.
You can also claw yourself in the chair or take something to knead with you, which concerns you and your hands a little.
I always had anesthetic drilled because I found the anesthetic worse than drilling. Anyway, I managed to get lost in my thoughts.

Christina Cherry

From relaxed-but-conscious to deep sleep – possibilities of modern anesthesia in dentistry

Thanks to effective local anesthetics, dentist patients no longer have to suffer pain in the dental chair. In addition, three forms of general anesthesia are available to dentists for longer, complex procedures or for "complicated" patients for one reason or another.

Sedation, twilight sleep and anesthesia

The transition between these three forms is fluid and primarily a question of dosage. In principle, all three stages can be brought about with many active substances in a dose-dependent manner – even if other medications are used for sedation and twilight sleep than for general anesthesia. Accordingly, the available anesthetic measures offer a spectrum of finely tuned options. This

Christina Cherry

Germany’s largest doctor-patient portal

From when to the (children’s) dentist?

Regular visits to the dentist are particularly important for your child – this is the only way to build trust in the treating doctor! (© Pediatric Dentist (c) Alen-D – fotolia) The question that parents are most concerned with is how many years should I take my child to the dentist? There are many and, above all, different recommendations that can be picked up among friends. From "only with toothache" to "in preschool age" to "when all milk teeth are there", there are many opinions on this question. The expert’s answer is: From the first tooth!

Christina Cherry