It is estimated that 50% of the population may feel some symptom of stress or anxiety during a visit to the dentist. It is also estimated that 33% of Spaniards are afraid and up to 12% have a phobia of the dentist, which leads them to cancel or postpone the visit to the specialist and the consequent aggravation of the oral problem, something that only increases anxiety and stress, with direct repercussions on the patient’s self-esteem and his or her relationship with his or her surroundings.
It is important to differentiate between fear of the dentist and anxiety or phobia of the dentist, as the treatment to overcome them is different. Fear always occurs during treatment and the patient reacts by hindering it and making the dentist’s work more difficult, making it less effective and even preventing it. On the other hand, anxiety or phobia is triggered before the treatment, the patient only with the thought of going and remembering something related to the treatment triggers an anxiety condition, presenting symptoms such as: trembling hands, tachycardia, sudden sweating, difficulty in breathing and even stomach pains.
In odontophobia or dentist phobia the patient has an irrational and much stronger fear that leads to avoid dental care. It is the prelude to pain. During dental treatment, the most frequent fears that appear are: of the syringe, of the needle, of pain with an instrument or appliance and of the noise of the turbine or drill.
The main factors that influence the triggering of anxiety when going to the dentist are the following:
-Having had little primary school education.
-Not having visited the dentist from an early age.
-Poor hygienic habits.
-Prolonged waiting time in the consultation room.
-Excessive number of patients in the waiting room.
-Being with your mouth open for a long time.
-The odor in the office or in the cabinet.
-Malpractice on the part of the dentist.
-Delayed treatment by the dentist.
-Long treatment sessions.
-The sight of the needle.
-The sensation of the injection.
-The noise of the turbine.
All these fears are stimuli that can provoke a threat or danger and can even interfere with the follow-up of the treatment until the patient avoids going to the dentist, thus aggravating the problem and creating a vicious circle with a progressive deterioration of the patient’s oral health. In short, what at first was only a fear can become a phobia or panic of the dentist.
The most frequent cause of “dental panic” is having had traumatic dental experiences (especially in childhood and adolescence) and the second most common cause is a lack of “professional psychology”. The same perception of pain is very different in each person and what for some is an innocuous procedure can be very annoying for others.
We must insist that many times there is a lack of understanding on the part of both the professional and their environment and these people feel totally helpless, creating psychological problems that can become more important than the oral and dental problem they have, even leading to major depression.
Therefore, it is very important to make a correct diagnosis and apply the most appropriate treatment in each case to overcome this problem and regain lost confidence.