Dental Phobia

There are certainly not many people who actively say they look forward to dental visits. In fact, many people even list the dentist in their top 10 fears.

Of course, this isn’t great news for friendly dentists like us. We don’t bite after all!

But we do understand that a fear of going to the dentist is very real for many people, young and old. It’s called “Odontophobia” and has even been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a real disease. According to their research, up to 15–20% of the population have suffered from odontophobia at least once during their life. 

If you, or your child has some anxiety around dental visits and procedures, you may want to read on as we discuss what can cause dental phobias, how we put our patients at ease and strategies you can implement to reduce fear around dentistry.

Often dental fears are not taken seriously by family and friends as many people perceive that “no-one enjoys going to the dentist”. We actively work every day to change that kind of thinking!

What can cause a fear of the dentist

It’s important to note that there is a fine line between a fear of going to the dentist (mild anxiety) and a phobia. In fact, there are three levels of odontophobia that we recognise. For us at Dentist Mandy, we treat patients from all ages with differing levels of pain thresholds, fears and phobias and work very hard to understand what each patient’s concerns are.

• Mild odontophobia, also called “dental anxiety”, is the most frequent among the population;
• Moderate odontophobia, called “dental fear”;
• Severe dental phobia, the real “dental phobia”, decidedly rarer and more intense

For some patients, their fears or phobias stem from the idea that dental procedures represent a loss of control. For others, their dental fear may arise from a bad dental experience, a story someone else has recounted or being influenced by others who have shared their dislike for dental procedures.

Whatever has created the desire not to see a dentist is something we are well versed at talking through with our patients.

How we help you through your dental fear

All of our professional staff are focused on making your visit to the dentist as comfortable, convenient and yes – enjoyable as possible!

To do  this, we make sure that all of our treatments are framed around what works for you. 

We want to make sure you know that you are in control, you are in professional and experienced hands and we genuinely care about ensuring that we minimise discomfort to deliver you the healthiest and best outcomes for your smile.

One of the most important ways we alleviate dental anxiety is to make sure all of our patients feel free to talk to us before setting foot inside our Bondi Beach practice. We encourage all of our clients to call us, talk through their concerns and let us know how they will feel the most secure and relaxed.

Once you attend your appointment with one of our professional dentists we:

• Gently explain what the dental treatment will involve, what you may feel and for about how long.
• Frequently ask how you are feeling and for permission to continue.
• Provide the opportunity to stop the procedure at any time. We often suggest a safe word or hand signal that can be used to pause treatment. 
• Discuss what kind of music and atmosphere will best relax you. Perhaps you need a soft toy with you, or your favourite music, even your favourite scented candle!

Most importantly, we keep the dialogue before, during and after treatment and support you to be honest about your dental fears. You will also notice that our Bondi Beach surgery is clean, warm, inviting and full of smiles. You won’t find scary posters on our walls and we are always keen to discuss the instruments we are using and the technology we employ to deliver the best results for your teeth.

Ideas to help with your fear of dentists and dental procedures

As we mentioned earlier, there are differing levels of dental fear and a big difference between a fear and a phobia. For phobias, we do recommend that this is something you talk through with a counsellor or mental health professional. We are happy to work with your management plan here to ensure your dental treatment is in line with your coping strategies.

For many of our patients dealing with dental fear, we suggest some of the following strategies to assist you:

• Choose a quieter time of day for your appointment. Our friendly staff can assist you with this. Knowing there are fewer people in the practice means there will be fewer dental procedure noises and waiting room discussions which could trigger your anxiety. 
• Bring noise-canceling headphones or earbuds with your favourite music to help you relax. We do provide you the noise-cancelling headphones if you forget your own.
• Ask someone you trust – a dental buddy – to accompany you to your appointment.
• Practice some meditations of mindfulness techniques to help relax you. There is much evidence which suggests that mastering deep breathing and meditation prior to your procedure has the greatest impact. Ideally, you do not want to only start to learn how to meditate when you are already in the procedure!
• In the same way that many women create a birth plan – it may help to write down a list of what you know will make you comfortable throughout your visit. Music, clothing, support people, scents – a blanket.

Trust is the most important weapon to fight dental fear

Each day we make it our business at Dentist Mandy to create a truly welcoming environment. It’s important to us that you know we are all highly qualified professionals with years of experience helping patients to achieve the smile they deserve. Some patients are of course more nervous than others and we have put a lot of emphasis on ways to make them feel more secure and begin to trust that we want them to feel safe, secure and relaxed.

Maybe a quick tour of our Bondi Beach practice and cute veggie patch might help, or perhaps an informal over the phone chat with our caring dentists might help you feel less anxious. If you suffer from any level of dental fear, please know we are here to help you through it.