Dental Phobia: The Fear of Dentists

Who does not know the feeling of uneasiness before going to the dentist? Certainly many have, and about 30% of the population reports to be actually afraid of going to the dentist. In some cases these fears are due to traumatic childhood experiences which can trigger palpitations, sweating, or a gagging reflex during dental treatment, but also sleeping problems the night before the dental visit. However, dental phobia often seems to be some sort of unexplainable primal fear. And the awareness that the dentist today “does not hurt anymore” does not really help much, because these anxieties are often not taken seriously enough.

The consequences regarding dental health, physical and mental wellness can be devastating. But there is professional help available, which in some cases can become really necessary and beneficial.

The most important objective for us to help dental phobia patients is to gradually reduce their fears. For this to happen, mutual trust between the patient and treating dentist is essential. To achieve this, we take particular care and use special techniques. For example we treat patients using laughing gas and sedation, and sometimes general anaesthesia. At the end of the treatment, not only should the teeth be restaured, but the patient should be able to go through a dental procedure in an entirely normal way and without any fears. From hundreds of successfully treated cases, we know that this aim is possible. The experience report of a former anxiety patient (only available in german) describes the successfully conducted treatment from a patient’s view.

This information is intended for patients who are afraid to go to the dentist and are looking for detailed information on treatment options to overcome their anxiety. Therefore, the results of our extensive experience treating dental anxiety patients are summarized here. Statistical statements are based on the analysis of over 1000 of our own cases.

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