Psychological Approaches to Manage Dental Anxiety

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO MANAGE DENTAL ANXIETY

Dental anxiety is a common issue, which can affect people of all ages, but appears to develop mostly in children and adolescent. Dental anxiety is not only stressful for the child and their family but is also associated with compromised oral health outcomes and an increased reliance on costly specialist dental services. Approximately 15 percent of the population fears going to the dentist.

 Fear of sound of dental drill and pricking pain of needle has been frequently shown to be the most fear-evoking stimuli for dental anxiety. However, children sometimes present with fears of certain treatments, they report a more general anxiety associated with the dental setting.

There are many ways to overcome dental fears which you may have when visiting your dentist. Following are the ways by which you can overcome your anxiety.

1.     Write your fears down, so that you can talk about them with your doctor. Listing your fears will help you recognize them, and it will also help your dentist in explaining you the cause of your anxiety.

2.     The foundation of any good relationship is communication. Even before you set an appointment with a dentist, it’s best to be vocal about your apprehensions, fears, and anxiety.

3.     For people with dental fear, appointments should be about creating a good experience along with good treatment.

4.     Having someone with you on a dental appointment offers an extra layer of support and assurance. For children it is advisable for parents to accompany them during a procedure.

5.     Sedation can be administered to keep a patient calm and relaxed during treatment. We in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry offer the treatment under conscious sedation which calms an anxious and fearful child during dental treatment.

6.     Distractions can help divert your attention during treatment. We use various audiovisual aids such as smart TV, Headphones, VR glasses etc so that the  child engages in these activities and cooperate during treatment.

7.    As reward we give our patients stickers and goodies, once they overcome their dental fear or make milestones like finishing a particular dental treatment.

Dental treatments are way more advanced now as compared to a few years back. In fact, there are ways to do things with as minimal pain as possible—from the administration of anesthesia to surgery.