Over 90 per cent of Brits admit to having some kind of fear of the dentist. There is something about the iconic image of the dentist and the drill that causes real fear in people. The reality today of course is slightly different. With the advances in dental technology over the last twenty years, dental surgeries are more like health spas than hospitals and many treatments are now relatively painless.

This is little consolation to many patients who still have a very real fear of the dentist. Many of their fears are rooted deep in previous traumatic experiences at the dentist, often during childhood. For most patients, it is possible to overcome the fear because they realise the health of their teeth is more important than the fear. This kind of fear is commonly known as dental anxiety. However. for a small number of patients the fear is too great to even contemplate a visit to the dentist. This more severe aversion is known as a dental phobia.

Dental phobics are unable to rationalise the need for dental treatment against their fear. The irony of this is of course that by prolonging dental treatment they often end up needing the very treatment they fear the most. If they had visited the dentist in the first place they may have been able to avoid future dental problems. This then is the aim of treating dental phobias. Dentists are specially trained to deal with anxious patients and many find that just talking through their fears with the dentist is enough to allay them. There is also the option to use self-hypnosis techniques which can help patients overcome their fear by putting them into a trance like state.

Recent studies have also find that by using aromatherapy patients are able to reduce their levels of anxiety. Lavender oil was found to be especially useful in reducing anxiety in patients before treatment.

In coming to terms with any phobia the first and most important step is to confront it. Just by talking with a London dentist you may realise that there is actually little to fear. Remember, the dentist is trained to help you deal with our anxieties and is in your interest to have your teeth seen to before any problems have time to develop.

Fear of the dentist is one of our most common fears. A recent study in the UK found that over 90 per cent of people admit to a fear of paying a visit to the dentist’s chair. For the most part, that fear is a mild and conquerable. This is known as dental anxiety. Most people are able to rationalise that fear against the necessity to have healthy teeth and will visit the dentist.

For others though, the fear is more severe and acts as a completely prohibitive factor in any visit to the dentist. This more serious fear is known as dental phobia and is not so easily overcome. Patients who suffer from dental phobia are likely to put their oral health behind their fears. This often results in dental problems, which in turn increase the need for them to see a dentist. This becomes a vicious circle that causes a great deal of anxiety and pain.

Dental phobia is caused by a number of factors, which are often similar for many people. One of the most common causes is a previous unpleasant experience at the dentists, possibly during childhood. A painful experience or particularly unfriendly dentist can cause a lifetime of anxiety and oral problems. Many other phobics talk of a fear due to lack of control or having instruments placed in their mouth. One of the other major causes of dental phobia is the transferred phobia, when a parent transfers their fear of the dentist to their child.

Today, there is no real reason for patients to fear the dentist. Dentistry has come along way since many patients’ childhoods. Technological advances have reduced the amount of pain involved in many procedures and the use of high intensity lasers has sped up recovery times.

There are also a number of things patients with dental phobia can do to help them relax. Using lavender oil before treatment has been shown to reduce anxiety and many surgeries offer hypno-therapy before treatment. Often it helps just to explain your fears to the dentist who will certainly be able to help. London dentists are experienced in dealing with anxious patients and will be able to help calm your anxieties. Whatever it takes, it is vital that you do not ignore your dental health and make an appointment. It could save years of further complications in the future.

In a recent study it was found that 93 per cent of the British public are afraid of going to the dentist. Most people’s fears stemmed from unpleasant or frightening experiences they had had at dentists in the past. For others, it was the lack of control and for many younger people the fear had merely been transferred from their parents.

This fear can be broadly broken down into two categories. The first is dental anxiety. This is a milder, although none-less real fear of visiting the dentist. For most people with dental anxiety they are able to realize that although they may not like it, visiting the dentist is in their best interests. For others who suffered form the more serious dental phobia, a visit to the dentist is more or less out of the question. Their fears are so substantial that they are willing to sacrifice dental health and associated health problems to avoid it. There are even stories about people who have starved to death because of dental problems they were unable to have treated because of fear.

Obviously for most people the fear does not take them to those extremes, but with nearly 10 per cent of the population suffering from dental phobia it is a serious concern.

One answer is to try hypnosis or self-hypnosis. Being in a light hypnotic trance is very successful at allaying people’s fears. For most people it is entirely possible to put yourself into a trancelike state which would ease those anxious visits to the dentists. Many London dentists are open to receiving hypnotized patients and will even aid in the trance process. It is a relatively easy process that almost anyone can do. Ask your dentist today and you can conquer your fears.