G
Guest
Former Member
Poll: Is shame, guilt or embarrassment over having "neglected" your teeth a big factor in your fear of dentists?
A common fear among people who suffer with dental phobia is embarrassment, shame and/or guilt over having neglected one's teeth.
The cause of decay is a bacterial infection. If certain bacteria were not present in your mouth, you wouldn't get decay. It's as simple as that.
Over the last years, there has been a major paradigm shift in thinking about the management of caries, a bacterial infection caused by specific bacteria. I came across a post on a dentists-only board, which I thought might be helpful for anyone who's experiencing feelings of shame, embarrassment, or guilt. There were many posts in that thread along similar lines. Here it goes:
"It is hard to believe that in our age of technology and information that dentists still fail to understand that the holes in teeth are merely symptoms of an infection. Without assessing for patients' risk levels, it is impossible to know how to appropriately treat them. We have been practicing CAMBRA in my practice now for 1.5 years. The impact to patients is tremendously beneficial. I find that by educating them as to the bacterial components of caries, it helps take away a great deal of the guilt and shame so commonly associated with caries."
A common fear among people who suffer with dental phobia is embarrassment, shame and/or guilt over having neglected one's teeth.
The cause of decay is a bacterial infection. If certain bacteria were not present in your mouth, you wouldn't get decay. It's as simple as that.
Over the last years, there has been a major paradigm shift in thinking about the management of caries, a bacterial infection caused by specific bacteria. I came across a post on a dentists-only board, which I thought might be helpful for anyone who's experiencing feelings of shame, embarrassment, or guilt. There were many posts in that thread along similar lines. Here it goes:
"It is hard to believe that in our age of technology and information that dentists still fail to understand that the holes in teeth are merely symptoms of an infection. Without assessing for patients' risk levels, it is impossible to know how to appropriately treat them. We have been practicing CAMBRA in my practice now for 1.5 years. The impact to patients is tremendously beneficial. I find that by educating them as to the bacterial components of caries, it helps take away a great deal of the guilt and shame so commonly associated with caries."