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How to Use the Common Dental Fears Section
The common fears section can help you
- realize that you are not alone with your fears - many others have or had the same fears.
- identify your fears - the mere thought of seeing a dentist can induce a feeling of overwhelming terror. This can make it difficult if not impossible to analyse what your actual fears are.
- think of things that might help, by providing concrete, hands-on tips and suggestions.
In the beginning...
If you suffer with full-blown dental phobia, you probably won't have a clue where or how to start. The good news is: you've already started! Chances are that it has taken you a lot of guts to look up this information. Your heart would have been pounding (and probably still does), you may have been shaking, you may have experienced hot flushes - but you did it all the same! Congratulations :-).
Whether you want to tackle your fears or not, seeing a dentist is not compulsory, but a choice you may or may not make. If you eventually do decide to enter into a caring relationship (no lewd remarks please - dentistry is defined as a "caring profession" ;-)) with your dentist, you should know about current thinking and guidance regarding informed consent.
The General Dental Council's guidance for dentists (2005) says:
- Treat patients politely and with respect, in recognition of their dignity and rights as individuals.
- Recognise and promote patients' responsibility for making decisions about their bodies, their priorities and their care, making sure you do not take any steps without patients' consent (permission).
Do not settle for anything less than a dentist who adheres to these principles and who really does view patients as active partners in their care, rather than passive recipients.
Some questions to ask yourself...
For the majority of people with a dental phobia, the fear is tied up with the dentist-patient relationship. Have a read through the following questions:
- What would my "ideal" visit to a dentist be like?
- What would the dentist be like?
- What would they do?
- What wouldn't they do?
You don't need to answer them now.
"How do I use this section?"
Read up on the fears that apply to you - simple as that!
One word of warning - there are some pages (like the ones for abuse survivors) which could be triggering. If you get scared, please stop reading, take some deep breaths, and talk to a friend or do an enjoyable activity. If you need more support than you can find here, please enlist the help of a qualified therapist or counsellor.
"I have many other fears that aren't listed on this site."
Everyone has somewhat different fears depending on what caused them in the first place. Sometimes fears are caused by things that are unrelated to, but reminiscent of the dental situation. It's impossible to cover every possible fear on a personal website! If you'd like to get someone else's input, you can post on our forum.
Some fears aren't really worth including on the list. For example, fear of toothpaste commercials, or fear of people mentioning the dreaded D-word are really just reminders of the threatening situation. These are usually not fears in their own right, but "fears by association". They simply vanish once you tackle your "real" fears with the help of the right dentist. You may also be deathly afraid of looking at your teeth (never mind having anyone else have a look!) - again, if you can get past the hurdle of letting a dentist have a look, it is very likely that your fear will dissipate.
Why is it important to identify my fears?
Unless you let your dentist know what it is you fear, he or she won't be able to help you. They're not mindreaders. Trying to put on a brave face helps nobody!
Some of the fears covered in this section are "common themes" rather than individual worries. You can find out more about communicating your particular worries and needs later on, in the Help section of this site.
Knowing about the big "themes" is really helpful though - many people have commented that they liked the fears section the best, because for the first time they realized that they are not alone and that their fears are not "abnormal".
Are there any materials I can use while reading through this section?
Not at the moment, though you can find some worksheets from the old Dental Fear Central website on the common fears downloads page. Look for the "Things I Fear" and "What Might Help" PDF files. I'm not really happy with them, so there'll be new improved ones in the future.
If you like to write things down, you can also take a sheet of paper and write down any tips you come across that you think might help.
The pages in this section are all printer-friendly (images and navigation bars are not printed to save on ink), so you can print out any useful pages.