London dentist uses hypnosis to treat dental phobia
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.
