Dental fear refers to the fear of dentistry and of receiving dental care. A pathological form of this fear (specific phobia) is variously called dental phobia, odontophobia, dentophobia, dentist phobia, or dental anxiety. For other uses, see Fear (disambiguation). ... This article is about the dental profession. ... X-rays can reveal if a person has cavities Dentistry is the practical application of knowledge of dental science (the science of placement, arrangement, function of teeth) to human beings. ... Specific phobia is a generic term for any kind of anxiety disorder that amounts to an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to specific objects or situations. ...

It is estimated that as many as 75% of US adults experiences some degree of dental fear, from mild to severe.^{[1][2] [3]} Approximately 5 to 10 percent of U.S. adults are considered to experience dental phobia; that is, they are so fearful of receiving dental treatment that they avoid dental care at all costs.^[4] Many dentally fearful people will only seek dental care when they have a dental emergency, such as a toothache or dental abscess. People who are very fearful of dental care often experience a “cycle of avoidance,” in which they avoid dental care due to fear until they experience a dental emergency requiring invasive treatment, which can reinforce their fear of dentistry.^[5] A dental emergency is a type of Medical emergency involving the teeth or gingiva. ... A toothache, also known as odontalgia or, less frequently, as odontalgy, is an aching pain in or around a tooth. ...

Women tend to report more dental fear than men,^[6] and younger people tend to report being more dentally fearful than older individuals.^[7] People tend to report being more fearful of more invasive procedures, such as oral surgery, than they are of less invasive treatment, such a professional dental cleanings, or prophylaxis.^[8] Invasive may refer to: An invasion An invasive species An invasive medical procedure This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a specialty of dentistry. ... Prophylaxis refers to any medical or public health procedure whose purpose is to prevent, rather than treat or cure, disease. ...

Cause

Many people report that their dental fear began after a traumatic, difficult, and/or painful dental experience.^[9] Dental fear may also develop as people hear about others' traumatic experiences or negative views of dentistry.^[10]

Treatments for dental fear often include a combination of behavioral and pharmacological techniques. Specialized dental fear clinics, such as those at the University of Washington in Seattle and Göteborg University in Sweden, use both psychologists and dentists to help people learn to manage and decrease their fear of dental treatment. The goal of these clinics is to provide individuals with the fear management skills necessary for them to receive regular dental care with a minimum of fear or anxiety. Although specialized clinics exist to help individuals manage and overcome their fear of dentistry, many dental providers outside of such clinics use similar behavioral and cognitive strategies to help patients reduce their fear. Behavior (U.S.) or behaviour (U.K.) refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... Gothenburg University, or Göteborgs universitet, is a university in Gothenburg, Sweden. ... A psychologist is a researcher and/or a practitioner of psychology. ... X-rays can reveal if a person has cavities Dentistry is the practical application of knowledge of dental science (the science of placement, arrangement, function of teeth) to human beings. ... Behavior (U.S.) or behaviour (U.K.) refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... Cognitive The scientific study of how people obtain, retrieve, store and manipulate information. ...

Treatment

Behavioral treatments include teaching individuals relaxation techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, as well as cognitive, or thought-based techniques, such as cognitive restructuring and guided imagery.^[3] Both relaxation and cognitive strategies have been shown to significantly reduce dental fear.^[11] One example of a behavioral technique is systematic desensitization, a method used in psychology to overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders.^[12] This is also sometimes called graduated exposure therapy or gradual exposure. For example, for a patient who is fearful of dental injections, the therapist first teaches relaxation skills to the patient, then gradually introduces the feared object (in this case, the needle and/or syringe) to the patient, encouraging the patient to manage his/her fear using the relaxation skills previously taught. The patient progresses through the steps of receiving a dental injection while using the relaxation skills, until the patient is able to successfully receive a dental injection while experiencing little to no fear. This method has been shown to be effective in treating fear of dental injections.^[13] Behavior (U.S.) or behaviour (U.K.) refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... Relaxation techniques are used by people who wish to relax, for a wide variety of reasons. ... Diaphragmatic breathing, or deep breathing is the act of breathing deep into your lungs by flexing your diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly by flexing your rib cage. ... Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique of stress management developed by American physician Edmund Jacobson in the early 1920s. ... Cognitive The scientific study of how people obtain, retrieve, store and manipulate information. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy used in the field of psychology to help effectively overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders. ... {redirect|Psychological science|the journal|Psychological Science (journal)}} Not to be confused with Phycology. ... The term phobia, which comes from the Ancient Greek word for fear (φόβος, fobos), denotes a number of psychological and physiological conditions that can range from serious disabilities to common fears to minor quirks. ... Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of fear, phobia and nervous condition, that come on suddenly and prevent pursuing normal daily routines including: general anxiety disorder social anxiety, sometimes known as social phobia or social anxiety disorder (SAD) specific phobias agoraphobia claustrophobia panic disorder separation anxiety...

Pharmacological techniques to manage dental fear range from mild sedation to general anesthesia, and are often used by dentists in conjunction with behavioral techniques.^[14] One common anxiety-reducing medication used in dentistry is nitrous oxide (also known as “laughing gas”), which is inhaled through a mask worn on the nose and causes feelings of relaxation and dissociation. Dentists may prescribe an oral sedative, such as a benzodiazepine like alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), or triazolam (Halcion). While these sedatives may help people feel calmer and sometimes drowsy during dental treatment, patients are still conscious and able to communicate with the dental staff. Intravenous sedation uses benzodiazepines administered directly intravenously into a patient’s arm or hand. IV sedation is often referred to as “conscious sedation” as opposed to general anesthesia (GA), In IV sedation, patients breathe on their own while their breathing and heart rate are monitored. In GA, patients are more deeply sedated. Sedation is a medical procedure involving administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure, such as endoscopy, vasectomy, or minor surgery with local anaesthesia. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer. ... Behavior (U.S.) or behaviour (U.K.) refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... For other uses, see Nitrous oxide (disambiguation). ... Alprazolam 2 mg tablets The benzodiazepines (pronounced , often abbreviated to benzos) are a class of sedative hypnotic psychoactive drugs with varying hypnotic, sedative, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant and amnesic properties, which are mediated by slowing down the central nervous system. ... Alprazolam, also known under the trade names Xanax and Niravam, is a short-acting drug in the benzodiazepine class used to treat severe anxiety disorders and as an adjunctive treatment for anxiety associated with clinical depression. ... Alprazolam, is an anxiolytic benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety disorders. ... Diazepam (IPA: ), first marketed as Valium by Hoffmann-La Roche) is a benzodiazepine derivative drug. ... Diazepam, brand names: Valium, Seduxen, in Europe Apozepam, is a 1,4-benzodiazepine derivative, which possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. ... Triazolam (Halcion®, Novodorm®, Songar®) belongs to benzodiazepine group of drugs. ... An intravenous drip in a hospital Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the administration of liquid substances directly into a vein. ...

Alternative care

People who are fearful of dental care may find dentists willing to work with fearful patients through recommendations by family and friends, dental insurance companies, and medical professionals. Often, dentists will advertise in telephone directories as being “gentle” or “catering to cowards.” Individuals are encouraged to make an initial appointment with a new dentist to discuss their previous experiences, concerns, and fears, without having any treatment done at the initial appointment. Some individuals have found online dental fear support resources to be helpful.^[15]

References