Let’s talk about the fear of dentist
Dr. Merike Immato explains
- Why are people afraid of dentists? What do you think as a dentist?
The fear of dentist or of coming to a visit, like any other fear, is stuck in a person’s head, in their thinking. It might be due to a memory of a procedure they once experienced, a pain they once experienced, a fear they once experienced…
And a thought pattern – “I can get hurt” contributes to this fear.
Fear of feeling pain.
Fear of a situation where a person cannot decide for him/herself, but has to trust a doctor.
A situation where a person loses the ability to have control is not something to be taken lightly.
In such a situation, a person can behave in two ways: accepting and becoming trusting, or not accepting and becoming suspicious.
However, treatment options have changed a lot over the last 10 to 15 years, as well as pain relief techniques and medication. Thanks to this, the fear of dental treatment has also significantly decreased, panic fear or running out of the cabinet is quite rare among adults now. Perhaps the awareness and possibilities for dealing with dental care in such a situation have increased, and the possibility of conducting treatment under anesthesia is also available now.
However, the better care options mentioned earlier have reduced the incidence of “dental anxiety” many times over. Children often carry someone else’s fear or experience with them when they come to the dentist.
- What advice would you give to patients who are anxious and have to come to the dentist to treat their teeth or have their mouth examined?
Trust is the most important thing in such situations.
A person can help him/herself by considering seeing a dentist as part of self-respect, as taking responsibility for his/her own health, or the process of learning what kind of personality he/she has. Of course, the bond you create with the dentist and the clinic is very important, because dental care procedure is very intimate and personal. You can also consult your GP and, if necessary, take lighter sedatives before coming to the visit. Or instead, learn to manage your anxiety, which is probably a good skill for a person with high anxiety background in other similar situations. But overall, I definitely recommend trusting your dentist, who always does everything possible to make a patient feel comfortable.
However, you should assume that being in a dentist chair is the same as receiving a honey massage in a SPA. You dentist has to perform certain procedures on you, by using a lot of equipment, and this is all done in order to improve your oral health.
To give you a smile that creates opportunities and boosts your self-confidence.
- How do you calm a patient during a dental appointment or is it even possible?
During a dental appointment, a patient, especially a scared patient, is always under extra pressure.
Since the dentist still has to focus on the oral procedure, the task of monitoring the patient is often the assistant’s responsibility. But, of course, an experienced dentist understands and knows almost immediately how to behave and what to say or not to say as soon as the patient enters the cabinet.
Therefore, the dental care personnel in many ways also acts as a psychologist, which requires skills and knowledge. However, these are not learned at the medical school, but taught by life experience and given by human nature.
- What is your experience with fearful and anxious patients?
As I mentioned earlier, the skill to communicate with a fearful patient comes with experience.
Just as a dentist learns manual skills throughout his/her time of practice, he/she also develops as a person and learns about his/her patients’ psychological features. Including how to decrease anxiety and increase confidence. It just takes longer with fearful patients, especially the first visits, when you have to talk more and treat less.
I have experienced the joy of adults and children overcoming their fear and getting better and better each time. In such cases, it is necessary to recognize and praise the patient. And we do that.
- How can parents prepare and support their children before a visit to the dentist?
This is a very important topic. Extremely important.
Children trust their mother and father first. Therefore, it is necessary to watch every word you say or move you make, which may give to the child a signal – be careful, you can get hurt here!
You should not pass your own fears to the child, simply because they are “my fears in my memories”. A child is always like a blank sheet, on which he/she creates his/her own pattern – whether to come to the dentist happily or frightened instead.
It is important to support the child’s journey to the dentist, listen to him/her, talk about the need to check his/her teeth and learn the technique of brushing the teeth. Both the child’s oral health and the whole pattern of fearful behaviour are to some extent a reflection of the home, as it is in many other activities, manners, and behaviours.
There are great animations, educational videos – which help parents prepare their children. I’d like to mention here a web address – suukool.ee – there you can find nice educational videos, both for children and adults. These are about nutrition, oral hygiene, health behaviour, etc. You should watch them together with your child and make a visit to the dentist a nice adventure where you can learn and see a lot of interesting things. But the main thing to remember is that the teeth can be fixed if necessary. After all, this visit can be just as exciting as, for example, going to a hairdresser or going to a game room….
Everything starts with the attitude, that is, how the parent chooses to handle the situation. And this should be handled before coming to the dentist.
Moms/dads – put your cell phones away and support your little heroes when you bring them to the dentist. It does not help saying: “Don’t be afraid, HE WON’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!”
In summary: my main message is that people have to take responsibility themselves. Both for their oral health and, unfortunately, for dealing with their fears. Dentists and the entire clinic team can only take on the role of an assistant helping reducing anxiety and restoring oral health.