Dental Anxiety and Phobia

Are you afraid or anyone you know afraid of going to the dentist? Or, do you feel a sense of anxiety when it’s time to visit the dentist? Many people feel a sense of anxiety when it comes to visiting the dentist and some people even fear going to the dentist all together, but both are normal feelings. According to research done by Columbia University College of Dental Medicine; “It has been estimated that 9% to 15% of Americans avoid seeing the dentist because of anxiety and fear. That’s about 30 million to 40 million people.” As you can see dental anxiety and phobia are both common but they are also different as phobia is a lot more serious than anxiety.

When a person has dental anxiety they can be worried initially about visiting the dentist but with dental phobia, a person may never visit the dentist. With dental phobia, there are a number of risk factors that can occur which can cause a person to have major dental problems. Having a fear of going to the dentist puts a person at a high risk for things such as teeth loss and gum disease. Not only is avoiding the dentist harmful for your teeth, but it could be extremely costly in the future if you have to get treatment done or go for surgery. If you or someone you know has dental anxiety or dental phobia there are ways to get over either of these issues. You can have a family or friend tag along with you to a visit for moral support. Another great way to overcome dental anxiety and phobia is to speak to your dentist about this. Your dentist will be able to talk to you and explain things to you and hopefully put your mind at ease.

We hope that everyone who suffers from dental anxiety or phobia will hopefully make it a goal this year to attempt to visit their dentist and orthodontist. For those of you who already go, make sure to schedule your yearly appointment if you haven’t already!