The University of Sydney has been conducting ongoing research to find out which demographic is the most likely to feel “trauma, abuse or oro-facial trauma” during trips to the dentist. According to their findings, it’s not little kids but women in their 40 who are most afraid of the dentist.
The reason women in their 40s have been singled out as having the worst dental phobias is because “they are also more likely to have higher levels of depression, general anxiety or suffer from stress.” These people tend to perceive pain in ways that is alarming, and lack the coping skills to deal with pain. The study found that these traits are strongly correlated with dental anxiety.
So what is dental anxiety? For people who suffer from the ailment, the mere word ‘dentist’ is capable of evoking terrifying imagery and a general feeling of dread. In the western world, a shocking statistic of 40% of people suffer from dental anxiety to some degree. For these people it took 17 days for them to make an appointment when enduring severe pain — 17 days of pain! For the rest of the population, it takes an average of 3 days to make it to the dentist.
Researchers and psychologists at the University of Sydney work with patients who suffer from dental phobias. The first step is to uncover the history behind the individual’s anxiety, find out what their fears are and what triggers them. Next, the focus is on finding coping practices that will eliminate fear from setting in. A different study that came out of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden researched the same topic and found that 5 strategies can work for those with a dental phobia. They are:
- distracting yourself (playing mental games like counting)
- distancing yourself (convincing yourself the pain feels like something else)
- praying (the dental treatment will end)
- self-efficacy (believing in yourself to stay strong and not panic)
- optimism (believing everything will be normal again after treatment ends)
The Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Sydney Professor Chris Peck says that it is essential for those with dental phobia to maintain good oral health through routine preventative care. By visiting your dentist regularly, you can lessen your risk of requiring surgical intervention. Avoiding surgery of the mouth will surely will set off some anxiety for those with a dental phobia.
Dentists also believe that fear of the dentist has to do with physical health as much as mental health. This belief can be attributed to the increasing amount of evidence that connects poor oral health with physical conditions like diabetes, obesity, and nutritional deficiencies.
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