1. Signs and symptoms

2. Causes
     Other people    Sexual abuse    Genetics   Other 

3. Diagnosis

4. Management
    Counselling  Medications   Hypnosis  

5. Epidemiology

6. See also

7. References

Signs and symptoms

People with dental phobia often avoid the dentist and neglect oral health, which may lead to painful dental problems and ultimately force a visit to the dentist. The emergency nature of this appointment may serve to worsen the phobia. This phenomenon may also be called the cycle of dental fear^[3]

Causes

Odontophobia (dental fear) is a “unique phobia with special psychosomatic components that impact on the dental health of the odontophobic persons”. For some individuals, dental fear may be so great that normal life is impaired. In these instances, the individual experiences fear or anxiety that is out of proportion to the actual danger present in the situation. This often leads to avoidance behaviour, and clinically significant levels of distress or impaired functioning.^[4]

Reasons for dental phobia may be:

· Fear of pain. Fear of pain is a very common reason for avoiding the dentist. This fear usually stems from an early dental experience that was unpleasant or painful or from dental "pain and horror" stories told by others. Thanks to the many advances in dentistry made over the years, most of today's dental procedures are considerably less painful or even pain-free.

· Fear of injections or fear the injection won't work. Many people are terrified of needles, especially when inserted into their mouth. Beyond this fear, others fear that the anesthesia hasn't yet taken effect or wasn't a large enough dose to eliminate any pain before the dental procedure begins.

· Fear of anaesthetic side effects. Some people fear the potential side effects of anaesthesia such as dizziness, feeling faint, or nausea. Others don't like the numbness or "fat lip" associated with local anaesthetics

· Feelings of helplessness and loss of control. It's common for people to feel these emotions considering the situation—sitting in a dental chair with your mouth wide open, unable to see what's going on.

· Embarrassment and loss of personal space. Many people feel uncomfortable about the physical closeness of the dentist or hygienist to their face. Others may feel self-conscious about the appearance of their teeth or possible mouth odours.^[5]

• a traumatic dental experience or other healthcare experience(s)
• previous trauma to the head and neck
• other traumatic experiences, including abuse
• generalised anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder
• the view that the mouth is a personal area and accessing the mouth is an invasion of personal space
• trust issues.^[6]
• negative past experience.^[7]
• The whine of a dental drill or the sound of a suction tube also trigger dental fear.
• Patients who have neglected at-home oral hygiene habits or routine preventative dentistry treatments will probably have poor oral health. These patients can benefit the most from restorative dentistry treatments to address dental complications. Unfortunately, poor oral health or a neglect of dental care is a common cause of dental phobia. When a person knows they will need extensive dental care to restore the strength of the smile, they may be afraid to schedule a dental exam. Many patients who suffer from poor oral health also fear that they will be judged or reprimanded by the dentist for letting their smile get to the state it is in.^[8]

Other people

Dental fear can be transmitted through other people's experience or their perception. Although the main anxiety comes from the fear of treatment, many studies suggest that the fear of going to the dental office is influenced by their family members.^[9][10][11]

Sexual abuse

Dental fear is associated with prior sexual abuse.^[12]

Genetics

Dental fear was 30% heritable and fear of pain was 34% heritable.^[13]

Other

Dental fear can be transmitted through social media, reading a comic dental paper, watching a movie involving gruesome dental scenes and listening to a fearful dental story from a friend or a family member. Dental fear can also arise from observation of other people attending for complex dental treatments.^[14]

Diagnosis

It is viewed as counterproductive to discuss dental fear with people because it is believed that this may exacerbate the pre-existing fear. Despite this common idea, it has been found that it is actually more beneficial in most cases to discuss dental fear with the patient. The first step in accommodating to patients with dental fear is to:

• Identify the patient has fear. This can be done through observation (constant moving, talking loudly, sweating) or by asking the patient directly.
• Then to create a conducive environment and open dialogue which can allow the patient to feel more comfortable in the dental setting.

Several methods have been developed to diagnose dental fear and anxiety. In addition to identifying the patients with dental fear, different categories of dental fear have been established.^[3][15] These include:

• Dental fear survey (DFS) which incapsulates 20 items in relation to various situations, feelings and reaction to dental work which is used to diagnose dental fear.
• Modified child dental anxiety scale (MCDAS), used for children and it has 8 items with a voting system from 1-5 where 1 is not worried and 5 is very worried.
• The index of dental anxiety and fear (IDAF-4C+), used for adults and it is separated into 8 item module and then a further 10 item module.
• Corahs dental anxiety scale 1-4 questions and then 1-26 question. This scale has a ranking system and the second section with 26 questions has 1-4 options ranging from 'low' to 'don't know' which is used to assess dental concern. The first section with 1-4 questions has 5 Likert scale options which are worth 1-5 points with the possible amount of maximum points is 20. Then depending on the result you rate the dental anxiety. 9-12 being moderate 13-14 being high, and 15-20 being severe.
• Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Index (STA): an instrument for measuring anxiety in adults. It differentiates between temporary condition of “state anxiety” and the more general and long-lasting quality of “trait anxiety”. It can also help differentiate between anxiety and depression^[16]
• Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI): a 16-item scale that focuses on apprehension about the symptoms of anxiety itself^[17]
• Seattle System: consists of four diagnostic types in which such individuals are categorised according to the main source of their dear regarding dental treatment^[3]
  • Type 1: simple conditioned phobia—fear of dental procedures
  • Type 2: fear of catastrophe—anxiety about somatic reactions during dental treatment e.g. fainting, panic attack, heart attack
  • Type 3: Generalized anxiety—nervous person in general
  • Type 4: distrust of dentists—fear of the dentist

Management

Dental fear varies across a continuum, from very mild fear to severe. Therefore, in a dental setting, it is also the case where the technique and management that works for one patient might not work for another. Some individuals may require a tailored management and treatment approach.^[18]

The management of people with dental fear can be done using shorter term methods such as hypnosis and general anesthetic, or longer term methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy and the development of coping skills. Short term methods have been proven to be ineffective for long term treatment of the phobia, since many return to a pattern of treatment avoidance afterwards. Psychological approaches are more effective at maintaining regular dental care, but demand more knowledge from the dentist and motivation from the patient^[3]

Counselling

Medications

General anaesthesia for dentistry can only be carried out in a hospital setting.

The use of general anaesthesia to reduce the pain and anxiety associated with dental treatment should be discouraged and general anaesthesia should be undertaken only when absolutely necessary.^[18]

Hypnosis

Epidemiology

Individuals who are highly anxious about undergoing dental treatment comprise approximately one in six of the population.^[25] Younger people, female, and those who have experienced prior unpleasant dental experience have higher rates.

See also

• Fear of medical procedures
• List of phobias

References

• Ramsey problem
• Ramsey's Theorem
• Ramsey's theorem
• Ramsey theorem
• Ramsey Theory
• Ramsey theory
• Ramsey Withers
• Ramsey Youssef
• Ramsey–Lewis method
• Ramsgate
• Ramsgate (disambiguation)
• Ramsgate, KwaZulu-Natal
• Ramsgate, New South Wales
• Ramsgate railway station
• Ramsgate tug
• Ramsgreave and Wilpshire
• Ramsgreave and Wilpshire railway station
• Ramshar
• Ramshaw
• Ramshaw, Bishop Auckland
• Ramshaw, Consett
• Ramshaw, County Durham
• Ram's-head lady's slipper
• Ramshead Range
• Ram (sheep)