Scared of The Dentists??

Dental care vs dental  scare

“Brush your teeth or I will take you to the dentist. He will pluck all you teeth with injections” yelled Mrs. Meena to her Daughter Tanya at top of her voice that she will brush her teeth before school bus arrives. Daughter Tanya is so scared of dentists that the thought of a dental office or a dentist is always a nightmare.  So she brushes twice daily that she will never need  to go to see a dentist. She developed odontophobia or fear for dentists .

Mrs Meena has not been to the dentist in last 6 years. She always depends on ayurvedic preparations and local chemists for her dental problems. Last visit to the dentist was so scary that in spite of broken teeth on both jaws and difficulty in chewing normal food she never went to any dentist. Now she is confronted with head and ear ache in the evening and all the medical doctors have ruled out any possibility and have prescribed to meet the dentist. With jitter in her body only she can enter the clinic to see the dental expert. By this time she had multiple problems related to the loss of teeth in the back side of the mouth and the joints are damaged to give pain that is unbearable.

Why is it so late?  What prevented the patient from the timely action? The suffering and the torments that the patients are undergoing due to their fear of dentists attributes to major problems in the functioning of the body especially the digestive system. The joint pain due to improper teeth contacts and missing teeth are seen in most of these people.

Odontophobia may not be contributed only to the fear instilled by parents but the  experience shared by colleagues and pictures/videos that portray pain and discomfort during after the dental procedures also could course it. But the main reason can be bad experience at the dentist.

How to Overcome Avoid /Dental scare?

Learn about dental problems and understand the treatment process before doing the procedures on the day of consolation

Always tell the dentist that you fear sensitivity that sound or the sight of needles he can avoid those

Shorten and simplify treatment procedures by using better technology. For Example root canal therapies could be completed on a single visit in just 20 to 45 minutes instead of 4-5 sittings as by convention. Or fixing and activating orthodontic braces is just 2 hour appointment than multiple appointments.

 Treat the problems at the start don’t wait until problem worse prevent problems than treat complexities

 Never tell children stories on injections at dental office or pull-up out teeth if no brushed and soon. Rather take them along with you when you visit the dentist and build a rapport between child &dentist.

What makes them scared?

The sensitivity issue: The drilling machines and the cleaning machines (scalers) may cause some sensitivity.

Post operative pain due to partially disinfected teeth during a root canal therapy.

Cost of dental treatments is another anxiety inducing factor. There are some tips to reduce your overall dental health expenditure.

a)      Have a check up done every six months and follow the oral hygiene instructions as prescribed

b)      Treat your minor problems like sensitivity or dark dental spots or food lodging before it becomes a major problem or pain

c)       Never extract teeth unless broken below the gums or so loose that it falls out

d)      Use good materials with guarantee than cheap materials when used for fillings or restorations that they may stay their permanently for very long  years

e)      Go to a well trained dentist that has time and patience to explain procedures and their advantages and get the best treatment than compromising in treatment.

Dr Thomas Nechupadam

Nechupadam  Dental Clinic

Marine drive

9387277213

ceo@nechupadam.com