Dentophobia
Fear of dentistry (Dentafobi)
Fear of the dentist is seen to be reduced by about 25% of the British population. In children, 9 out of 10 children have dental fear. The most common causes of fear are; Dental injector itself, the injection itself, the use of aerosol (filling device), the sight of blood, the past experiences or unpleasant experiences that someone else has described, Dentist fear is unfortunately used in some movies, cartoons and magazines for humorous purposes. This leads to fear in adults and children who have no negative feelings about the dentist, and in fearful consolidation in the already existing fear.
Almost all dentists have to work with patients who are fearful of dentistry. If you feel such a fear against your dentist and you are constantly postponing your current problems, the first step to be taken is to speak of this fear when an appointment is made by your dentist. Thus, it will be ensured that the appointment time to be taken is the most appropriate time for both the physician and the patient. The second thing to do is to speak clearly to the physician about the patient’s fears. Why is the patient afraid of the dentist and what can be done about it? It has been reported that there is a positive effect on the terrifying / lethargic reduction of information about the procedures to be performed during illness treatment and the period of recovery after the treatment.
The dentist can explain the steps to be taken during treatment to the patient step by step and ask the patient to raise his hand or finger when the pain is heard. Fear can thus be reduced by giving the patient a guarantee that the procedure can be interrupted and painful.
Some people may have more serious fears. In these cases, oral or veterinary tranquilizers may be required or even general anesthesia may be necessary. In addition, hypnosis can be used besides psychotherapy to help defeat these fears. For this, the dentist and other doctors in the other areas and psychological cooperation is required.
A great deal of fear of dentistry is the fear of needles = anesthesia in both adults and children. Whether it is the image of a needle or the magnitude of the pain to be heard, it is this fear that the human being is raised under consciousness.
The first condition of painless treatment is; Anesthesia. For this reason, those who are afraid of piercing may experience pain that they feel much more by escaping from an operation that they will feel little or no sense at all – the anesthetist. Emerging technology offers many alternatives for patients not to feel pain. Because of this reason, patients do not experience much pain today. For example, with the development of technology, the tips of the needles used for anesthesia in the dentistry are made to have diameters less than one millimeter (0.35-0.40 mm). The patient often does not feel the needle because the needle is too thin in diameter. Nevertheless, for those who are worried, it may be possible to use a spray or gel-like superficial anesthetic before injecting to make the needle never felt.
On the other hand, it is advisable to use Walkman or iPod during treatment for those who suffer from chest discomfort caused by a piercing tool used in dentistry.
Fear of Dentistry in Children
In our country, unfortunately, how the milk teeth will fall, neither the children nor the children are being treated for dental control or simple problems in the teeth of the milk. The present problem is addressed to the dentist only when progress is made and the pain becomes unbearable. For this reason, the first time a dentist comes to a dental clinic, he or she is introduced to an advanced treatment, such as a deep fill or tooth extraction. This naturally causes the child to develop a serious fear.
For children to be admitted to the dentist; They are recommended to be brought to the dentist for “acquaintance” at an early age, even these acquisitions can be coincided with special days of their ages, or they can be taken to the dentist for entertainment before going to a favorite place. Thus, in the first experience, the child has a painless and fearless day. In subsequent sessions, painless interventions should be made as much as possible.
It should not be forgotten that children only know that their lives are not blinking. They can not interpret events accurately. The treatments to be done for this reason should not be done suddenly but spreading over time and the child should not be scared. It is ensured that the child does not get negative impressions about the dentists. As a result, the most important periods of dental fear develop are overcome in a healthy way.