According to some estimates, about 75% percent of US adults suffer from some form of dentophobia or a fear of going to the dentist. This is an actual psychological condition in which people suffer real anxiety about visiting their dentist’s office.
While the fear these people experience is real, the motivations behind dentophobia are not, although they once were. Most people who suffer from dentophobia are worried that their experience at the dentist’s office is going to be painful. But thanks to modern dentistry, most dental exams, procedures, and treatments are essentially pain-free.
Cause of Dentophobia
Most of the time, dentophobia is caused by cultural or environmental conditioning. People fear to go to the dentist because other people tell them that it’s going to be a painful or negative experience. This inaccurate information could come from popular culture like TV or movies, or from friends, family members, or co-workers.
The idea that going to the dentist is a painful experience is rooted in truth, although outdated truth. Prior to today’s advanced dental techniques, many dentists would deal with most dental problems with extraction — pulling out the affected tooth — which could be a painful and even traumatic experience for the patient.
Today, however, extraction is rarely used. Instead, dentists have new, painless treatments that generally try to save the original tooth rather than pull it.
Cure for Dentophobia
Dentophobia can be cured by simply visiting an experienced dentist who uses contemporary, painless dental techniques. Once the patient understands that going to the dentist isn’t generally painful, they no longer fear the experience.
Avoiding to the dentist because of dentophobia typically will cause more pain and suffering than overcoming the anxiety. Untreated teeth will decay and worsen, causing more tooth pain, tooth loss, gum disease, and other serious dental issues.
Dentophobia belongs in the past. Visit your dentist to get the treatment you need without pain or worry.
