Fear of the Dentist and Getting Your Teeth Into the Solution
Thursday, October 9th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Being afraid to visit the dentist, especially if such visits are rare, is an affliction many individuals have. It’s quite common for people to avoid the dentist altogether and allow their dental hygiene to go down the tube, as their gums develop gingivitis and teeth begin to decay and abscess.
To-day there are many methods and techniques to help overcome anxiety so that going to the dentist becomes more comfortable. A survey by the British Dental Association found that 25% of people feared visiting the dentist.
Fear of the dentist can vary from mild to extreme. The greatest obstacle is simply fearing what is not known. Dental fear is a reaction to a danger that you know about. A bad experience as a child while at the dentist, such as pain, vomiting, etc, is more than likely the cause of your dental fears now. The worst is dental phobia, which is an extreme fear of the dentist that usually stems from a painful experience as a youth.
So what may you be frightened of?
A fear of needles
A fear of dental instruments in your mouth
The worry you might vomit
Unsympathetic dentists
Bad childhood experiences
Fear of the drill
Fear of anaesthetic
Feeling vulnerable
There are three factors that tend to keep your fear of the dentist going.
Sensitisation (you find it difficult going to the dentist)
Avoidance (you stop going to the dentist)
Negative, distorted self talk (which terrifies you)
When a person learns to associate their extreme anxiety to the dentist or the dentist’s office, a dental phobia results. If you start to feel panic surge up into your throat as you make the appointment over the phone or as you walk into the clinic, you might start to feel that way every time you find yourself in a dental-related situation. Sensitization means that just thinking of the dentist can immediately make you anxious.
When the sentisation happens you can find yourself avoiding the situation. Repeated avoidance is very rewarding because it saves you from having to feel any anxiety. The best way to hang on to your phobias or fears is to avoid them altogether. This holds you back from getting a grip on them.
The third factor that perpetuates fears of going to the dentist, is distorted self talk. The more apprehensive you are about your phobias, the more likely that you will be telling yourself negative things about said phobia. Realize you may experience fear or other negative ideas about going to the dentists. Both the negative self talk and negative image serve to perpetuate your fears, guaranteeing that you remain afraid. Sometimes your confidence that you’ll overcome your fears is undermined. By not talking yourself out of it and having a fearful imagination you would be more apt to conquer your evasion and go to the dentists confidently.
Hypnotherapy can be of great assistance with that. Hypnotherapy is useful in the way that it can help you overcome all kinds of fears, while you are comfortable and relaxed.
First you must locate a considerate dentist, and you’ll discover with regular appointments you’ll begin to experience confidence, which will increase with every visit. The icing on the cake is that you’ll gain a pearly white smile and fresher breath.
A good dentist and great Plymouth hypnotherapist helped to cure me of the fear of the dentist that had bothered me for many years.
Ask your friends and colleagues if they can recommend a dentist who looks after anxious patients A dentist who is a good listener can go a long way towards relieving your anxieties. It is also important that you can talk about your fears and concerns with your dentist and feel at ease doing this. There are many things a person can do to release anxiety.
Relaxation and distraction techniques
Pain free injection
Sedation
Listening carefully to you, giving you time
Explaining the procedures
You may wonder how hypnosis will assist you in overcoming your fear.
That is among the several problems dealt by hypnotherapy.
NLP is one of the many techniques that Hypnotherapists implement to deal with phobias.
During the session you will also imagine the process of making an appointment on the telephone, seeing yourself feeling calm and confident as you do so, you will imagine yourself feeling relaxed and calm in the moments leading up to the appointment.
You will imagine going into the dental surgery for a check up, all the time feeling strong and safe, and when you think of dentists and drills you will feel calm and in control, and you will see yourself leaving the surgery feeling a surge of confidence and elation.
Knowing that you’ll never have to be afraid again will make you feel fantastic, and now you’ll have clean white teeth and nice breath.
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