Approximately one in every five individuals is afraid of going to the dentist. This fear is quite natural and understandable, but yet, it can have dire results. The fact is that people who fear the dentist have worse oral health than those who do not. This is unsurprising since the fear factor is a strong motive to avoid dental checkups and even emergency dental care.
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The Fear of Physical Pain
The dentist is not noticeably less friendly than anyone else, but having a relative stranger put his/her hands into your mouth and tinker around inside with noisy drills or sharp-ended implements makes many wary. There you sit helpless in a chair while untold pain presumably awaits you.
Painless Dentistry
There may be less to fear from the dentist, however, than many tend to believe. The Beverly Hills dental practice of Dr. Bruce Vafa, for example, specializes in “painless dentistry.” Anesthetics have come a long way in recent years, and sedation dentistry allows you to sleep through dental procedures with no pain experienced. When the dentist’s work is done, there is additional anesthesia to counter any lingering sensitivity.
Exchanging One Fear for Another
When you consider that tooth decay, tooth loss, gum disease, and a misaligned bite pattern can all result from avoiding the dentist, you may well find reason to fear <i>not</i> going to the dentist more than you fear going there. Add to that the painless techniques of modern dentistry, and you should be able to find the courage to face the dentist’s drill.
The Fear of “Financial Pain”
A second reason people fear the dentist is the expense. Dr. Vafa offers competitive rates and affordable dental financing to counter “dentist phobia” on that front as well. The consequences of avoiding necessary dental visits make them well worth the investment, but Dr. Vafa’s oasis of dental affordability takes the pain out of the financial aspect of seeing the dentist.
An Inspiration to Your Family
By taking courage and not fearing the dentist, you can inspire your children to do the same. This can keep them from fearing dental appointments later in life as well, thus benefiting their lifelong oral health. You will also teach them a lesson in overcoming fear and in finding things formerly feared not nearly so dread as was once supposed.
Fear of the dentist is a common problem that leads to avoidance of trips to the dentist’s office and then to tooth, gum, and mouth conditions. With modern sedation dentistry and anesthetics, there need be little to no pain experienced in the dentist’s chair.