General Dentistry Concepts: Dental phobia
Dental fear involves an emotional reaction to one or more specific dental situations. Dental anxiety indicates a state of apprehension that something dreadful is going to happen as a result of dental treatment Dental anxiety is usually
General Dentistry Concepts: Dental phobia
Dental fear involves an emotional reaction to one or more specific dental situations. Dental anxiety indicates a state of apprehension that something dreadful is going to happen as a result of dental treatment Dental anxiety is usually coupled with the sense of losing control. Dental phobia represents a severe type of dental anxiety. It is characterized by persistent anxiety related to specific situations or objects such as drilling, local anesthetic injections or persistent anxiety to the dental setting in general. The term ‘dental fear and anxiety’ (DFA) is the term used to describe strong negative feelings associated with dental treatment in children, adolescents and adults. DFA is used regardless of if the criteria for a diagnosis of dental phobia are met. Dental phobia can include the fear of dental procedures, the general dental environment, a fear of dental instruments or the fear of the dentist.
Signs and symptoms
People who have dental phobia often avoid the dentist and neglect their oral health. This neglect and avoidance of the dentist often leads to painful dental issues and ultimately force the patient to visit the dentist. The emergency nature of this type of appointment may even worsen the dental phobia. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the cycle of dental fear. Dental anxiety typically begins for a patient as a child. There is the potential for this to place strains on particular relationships and negatively impact their employment.
Research suggests that there are numerous factors which lead to the development of dental anxiety and dental phobia. Some cases can be associated with a previous experience which was traumatic or they may be associated with indirect experiences. Patients who deal with dental fear often had a painful dental