Dental phobia or dentophobia is generally defined as a fear of dentists and of dental procedures.  It is actually a very common fear.  It is estimated that as much as 50% of Americans do not regularly see their dentists because of anxiety and that about 9 to 15% of the population avoid dental treatment altogether due to severe fear.  Dental phobics will avoid visiting their dentists at the cost of needless pain, tooth decay, or the loss of their teeth.

Many instances of dentophobia often involve fears that are more defined, specific and individual. Here are some examples:

The fear of dentists: Dentists represent authoritarian figures that check how well we’ve taken care of our teeth. This fear is the effect of traumatic childhood visits to the dentist.

The fear of needles: One of the most common phobia since it is nearly impossible to look away since the needle is injected in your gum or cheek.

The fear of anesthetics: This includes the fear of waking up and feeling the pain, not responding to the anesthetic or being allergic to it.

The fear of the dental drill: The iconic symbol of dentistry.  The distinct sound alone often triggers anxiety attacks in patients.

The fear of pain: Patients who experienced pain when they visited the dentist as a child often find it difficult to visit again.

The fear of numbness: The fear of being unable to call for help or control the level of pain they are able to receive once they are under anesthesia.

The fear of choking: Another common phobia particularly since the dentist needs to work in the mouth area.

The fear of being embarrassed: A fear that feeds on itself since the more you avoid going to the dentist, the worse your oral health becomes.

The fear of diagnosis: The fear of a simple check-up becoming an expensive and long procedure.

For some people, just passing a sign or an advertisement for dental services can set off panic attacks or some severe symptom of anxiety.

Fortunately for such people, help is now readily available.  Many dentists are now advertising specific techniques designed to deal with such patients.

Fast acting sedative medications are now available that are able to relax the patient enough so that they can undergo dental treatments without any fear.

Other dentists use relaxation and desensitization techniques to help patients overcome their fears gradually.  In these techniques, the patient remains fully conscious without the need for sedatives.

Mobile Anesthesia Service Concepts, LLC (MASC) is an anesthesia service that specializes in office-based anesthesia.  We can be found at www.masccares.com.

MASC combines outstanding anesthesia practices with techniques that are designed to free the patient’s mind of their fear.

<strong>Reduce or eliminate Dental Phobia
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<a href=”http://preemptivehealing.com/preemptive-healing-products”><img title=”Dental Phobia – A Guided Meditation for fear and anxiety” src=”http://preemptivehealing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/dentalsmall2.jpg” alt=”Dental Phobia – A Guided Meditation for fear and anxiety” width=”117″ height=”108″ /></a><strong>Dental Phobia – A Guided Meditation for Dental Fear and Anxiety</strong> is an audio download designed to help reduce anxiety and fear both consciously and unconsciously through the conditioning of the mind.  Instead of having the patient accept fear and anxiety, we are empowering his mind to destroy that fear and anxiety.  This results in a reduction of narcotics as well as a decrease in complications postoperatively.

This audio download can help condition your mind for  your upcoming dental visit and procedure. If you follow the guidelines as directed by Dr. DeMarco, you will be better prepared, more relaxed and you will be surprised at how well you recover when you take fear and anxiety out of the procedure.

You don’t have to be scared to visit the dentist. Visit our website, read our blog articles about Fear and Anxiety and sample our wonderful audio product, “<a href=”http://preemptivehealing.com/preemptive-healing-products”>Dental Phobia  – A Guided Meditation for dental fear and anxiety.</a>”

Whatever the individual patient’s situation, there is no reason to avoid visiting the dentist.  Whatever course of treatment the patient eventually chooses, bear in mind that the most important thing is to have a dentist who understands and who can help them handle their fears.

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