Exposure Therapy for Dental Phobia

[JJones86]

Hi all.

I have a question for doctors or members here who have gone through this.

I'm looking into exposure therapy for my dental phobia. Has anyone here used it before or is anyone able to explain it to me?

Otherwise are there other types of therapy to help you overcome the phobia?

I really feel trapped right now. I need to find a way to start overcoming this not just go on an appointment by appointment basis because that isn't working.

Thanks.

JJ

 

[Tink]

Hi, you probably already know this but I've done something a bit like this - worked pretty well for me!

Not too well right now so I'll get back to you later with a bit more in the next few days - but in the meantime, what sort of things would you like to know about it? Any specific questions or things that are bothering you?


Tink x

 

[JJones86]

Hi.

Do you think it would be ok if I ask my dentist for some short appointments just for exposure therapy?

I could ask him to show me the different instruments and sounds as I feel ready.

Do you think that is a reasonable request that he would help me with?

Thanks.

JJ

 

[Jwade]

Hey there,

I wouldn't see why the dentist wouldn't accommodate you on this. However it may be difficult for them as the only appointments they want to make is ones where they'll be doing some work on a patient. You could always ask to see if they could fit you in right at the end of the day for 10-15 minutes.

Hi.

Do you think it would be ok if I ask my dentist for some short appointments just for exposure therapy?

I could ask him to show me the different instruments and sounds as I feel ready.

Do you think that is a reasonable request that he would help me with?

Thanks.

JJ

 

[Tink]

Do you think it would be ok if I ask my dentist for some short appointments just for exposure therapy?

I could ask him to show me the different instruments and sounds as I feel ready.

Do you think that is a reasonable request that he would help me with?

Hi, sorry, forgot about this! Was ill for longer than I expected and still knackered so just a quick response.

Yes, it's a totally reasonable request! Definitely something you could ask for and generally something that a good dentist would be happy to do.

Re concerns upthread about whether they'd be able to do it - remember, it is treatment, it's treatment for your phobia. As long as they're getting paid for their time I honestly don't think it matters. When I did this my dentist was very happy to spend the time on it, I made appointments specifically to go in and do that and I just paid for it as consultation time - not a problem at all!


What I would say about this sort of approach is choose your dentist wisely. If you're going for an exposure therapy/desensitisation approach, it should really be something you do with a dentist who knows what they are doing and has done this before, perhaps even working alongside a therapist of some sort - facing your fears is a big deal and it needs to be done slowly and carefully.

Done right, it really does work though!

If you search back through the forum, you should find some threads about it where I've talked about it in quite a bit more detail (I tend to call it "desensitisation" so try searching for that). There's also quite a good page of info here:

Exposure and CBT for Dental Phobia

How is desensitisation used for overcoming dental fears? Includes an example of a needle phobia desensitisation protocol.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Hope that helps! Sorry for wandering off there x

Tink

 

[Hannah01]

It depends on the work load and nature of hospital/clinic. Some doctors did not allow exposure therapy but in my case they sent me to the dental students department where they show me how its done.....I feel lucky