What phobia to the dentist?
A "phobia" is traditionally defined as "a severe irrational fear that leads to avoidance of the situation, the object of fear or activity" (however, the Greek word "phobia" means simply the fear). The exposure to the feared stimulus causes an anxiety response that may take the form of a panic attack. phobia causes much distress, and impact on other aspects of the individual's life, not just your oral health. dental phobia spend much time thinking teeth or dentists or dental situations, or even spend much time trying not to think of teeth or dentists or dental situations.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) describes phobia of the dentist as a "marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable." It also assumes that the person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. But recently there has been a recognition that the concept of "dental phobia" can be misleading.
The difference between anxiety, fear and phobias
The terms anxiety, fear and phobias are often used interchangeably, but there are significant differences.
Dental anxiety is a reaction to an unknown danger. Anxiety is very common, and most people some degree of dental anxiety, especially if they are doing something they never experienced before. Basically, there is a fear of the unknown.
Dental fear is a response to a known danger ("I know what the dentist will do there, done that - I fear") that includes a response against theft or freeze when confronted with threatening stimuli .
dental phobia is basically the same fear, but stronger ("I know what happens when I go to the dentist -. no way to return if I can help, I'm so scared feeling sick") Moreover, the -. struggle flight reaction or freezing occurs when just thinking about it or be reminded of the threat situation Anyone with a dental phobia will avoid dental care. all costs until a physical or mental burden of the phobia becomes overwhelming.
What are the most common causes of dental phobia?
Bad experiences: dental phobia is most commonly caused by poor or in some cases, traumatic dental experiences (studies suggest that this is true for about 80 to 85% of dental phobias, but it is difficult to obtain representative samples). This includes not only painful dental visits, but also psychological factors such as being humiliated by a dentist.
Dentist behavior: It is often thought, even among dental professionals is the fear of pain that prevents people from seeing a dentist. But even when the pain is a major concern of the person, not the pain that is necessarily the problem. Otherwise, dental phobia not avoid the dentist, even if the toothache. On the contrary, is the pain inflicted by a dentist who is perceived as cold and control that has a huge psychological impact. The pain inflicted by a dentist who is perceived as the attention and treats the patient as an equal is much less likely to cause psychological trauma. Many people with the phobia of dentists report that they feel they have no control over "what is done to them" once they are in the dental chair.
The fear of humiliation and shame: Other causes of dental phobia include insensitive comments, humiliating by a dentist or hygienist. In fact, insensitive remarks and the intense feelings of humiliation they provoke are major factors that could cause or contribute to a dental phobia. Human beings are social animals, and social unrest negative assessment most people, apart from the most thick-skinned people. If you are the type of sensitive information, denial can be annoying.
A History of Violence: dental phobia is also common in people who have been victims of sexual abuse, especially in childhood. A history of bullying, or be physically or emotionally abused by someone in authority can also contribute to the development of dental phobia, especially in combination with bad experiences with dentists.
Vice-Learning: Another reason (which, judging by our forum, seems to be less frequent) are observations of learning. If a parent or caregiver is afraid of dentists, kids can look at this and learn to fear and even in the absence of bad experiences. Also may hear horror stories from other people on the painful visits to the dentist has a similar effect - that children can movies like "Horton Hears a Who!" which portrays a dentist in a negative light.
Preparation: Some of the subtypes of dental fear can certainly be described as "absurd" in the traditional sense. People can of course be "ready" to learn certain phobias, such as a phobia of needles. Millions of years, people quickly learned to avoid snakes, heights, and lightning was probably a good chance to survive and pass on their genes. So there may be a particularly painful encounter with needle phobia to develop.
Post-Traumatic Stress: Research suggests that people who have had horrible dental experiences (as expected) suffer from symptoms typically reported by persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is characterized by intrusive thoughts of the ordeal and nightmares about dentists or dental situations.
This last reason is very important. Most people with dental phobia have a history of aversion or even extremely traumatic dental experiences. They showed no symptoms as "excessive" or "unreasonable" and in that sense resembles those of posttraumatic stress disorder. Certainly, congenital dental phobias, as "irrational" fear at the sight of blood or syringe, may explain a small percentage of cases.
The impact of dental phobia in everyday life
Dental phobia may have consequences for human life. Not only their dental health suffer, but the dental phobia can lead to anxiety and depression. Depending on how the damage is evident, and individual meetings to avoid, even close friends because of embarrassment about their teeth, or be unable to accept jobs that involve contact with the public. The loss of self esteem can not do something as "simple" like going to the dentist and an intense feeling of guilt for not taking care of teeth is also very common. Dental phobia is suffering can also avoid doctors for fear that they might want to take a look at their tongue or throat, and suggest that a visit to a dentist could not go wrong.
What should you do if you have dental phobia?
The first and most important thing is to understand that you are not alone! Conservative estimates reckon that 5% of people in the West in order to completely avoid for fear of dentists. And many others are concerned about some of dentistry. Today it has become much easier to find support for web-based support groups, such as the fear of dental support. You are not alone, and you may find that you share your experiences with people who really understand what you are going through helps. Most dental phobics services that have exceeded their fears, or who can now get dental care to say that finding the right dentist - one who is kind, thoughtful and kind - is made all the difference.
It takes great courage to take the first step and seek information about greatest fear - but it's worth it if the result would be to live without the phobia of the dentist!
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