If you have a fear of the dentist you are not alone. In fact, some 30 million Americans, or more, have a fear of the dentist. This fear has a few common names, one of them being dentophonia.
If a fear of the dentist has been keeping you away from getting some much needed dental work done, or even a simple cleaning, you might be happy to hear that there are some things that can help you get past your fear and allow you to get that healthier mouth you may have been wanting.
Learn To Meditate And Visual
Things like hypnosis, guided meditation, and even visualization have been shown to work for some people when it comes to a fear of dental work. When thinking of hypnosis it’s not like the magician on the stage that makes someone cluck like a chicken. Instead they help remove blogs and triggers and open up other things in your mind.
If you need some dental work, or already have an appointment coming up that you are nervous about, talk to someone that does hypnosis or meditation, or do some research online, and find out about meditations that can help you get through your fear.
See It In A Different Light
Think of your dental health as an important part of your overall health, because it is. If you can learn to look at it as any other routine doctor visit, it may help you to get past your fears. Remember, your dental health can affect your heart health, and pregnant mother’s dental health can even affect their unborn baby.
Talk To Your Dentist
Don’t be afraid to express your fears directly to your dentist, even if they seem minor. Your dentist is used to working on all kinds of people and it’s likely they have worked on others with a fear of dental work. If they know where your fear lies (the needle, or something else) they may be able to offer other suggestions to help you get through it.
Many dentists offer gas these days, which can be great for someone with a fear of dental work. Your dentist may also be happy to go over all the different tools with you so that you have more of an understanding what he is doing in there.
Face Your Fears
Sometimes, for some people anyway, the best way to get over a fear is to simply face it down. Don’t keep rescheduling your appointment. Just go and know that you will be alright.
This can be a difficult task, but there are even therapists out there that help people face their fears in the same way, like letting a spider crawl on their hand. It may take you a week to work up to it; start by visiting the waiting room, then touring the exam room, before the day comes that you actually have to sit in that chair.
Originally posted on March 14, 2016 @ 3:40 pm