Fear of the Dentist

Is it natural to be afraid of a dentist?

Even with recent improvements in pain control at the dentists, a very large number of people suffer from a clear and present fear of visiting their dentist. Dental phobia and dental anxiety are common, but why exactly?

Where does the fear of dentists originate?

As with most phobias, dentophobia probably finds its roots in an earlier childhood experience which had a strong negative emotional association. This locked away memory of the unfortunate experience can then create a strong pattern of fear around the idea of going to the dentist and often the person suffering from the phobia can actually feel afraid simply imagining the sound of the dentist's drill. This phenomenon is known as anticipatory anxiety.

What are the typical consequences of dental phobia?

Now we all acknowledge that it’s really important to have good dental health. However, fear of the dentist or a dental phobia, can prevent you from making that appointment that you know you should in order to prevent tooth decay, infected gums and dental pain. Individuals who suffer from this fear may often prefer to tolerate these things rather than go to the dentist.

Reluctance (or refusal) to go to the dentist can result in difficulty chewing food, pain from cracked fillings, bad breath, etc. Bad breath due to a dental problem in particular, can cause confidence and self-esteem problems as time goes by.

Hypnotherapy can offer an effective solution to dentophobia

Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy has a long history of being a very effective treatment for your dental fear or anxiety by reprogramming the subconscious mind with new patterns of behaviour which wipe out the original association and replace it with a more relaxed perception of dentists and going for dental treatment.

I would never have believed that I would be sitting in a dentist's chair let alone having a drill in my mouth but that's exactly what I did after my sessions with David. Now I visit my dentist on a regular basis and feel fine