Dental phobias in Kingston-upon-Thames
In Kingston-Upon-Thames, it’s not easy to identify why we suffer from dental phobias but it is thought that around 70% of us, at some level, do. Most of these fears stem from actual past experiences to ourselves or other people that we know arising from bad dental practises. In other cases, some of us may find dental treatment invasive; it can stem from emotional or physical abuse in the past that transmits into the dental surgery with the fear that we are going to suffer further harm and pain- in short, we are going to be bullied by the treatment we get. Then there is the phobia which we build up in our own heads from sources like the media, i.e. dental adverts, newspaper articles or horror films, and even though we have had no ‘actual’ bad personal experiences ourselves, our minds can race away uncontrollably, so that by the time we arrive for a simple check-up, we’ve reconstructed a scene straight out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Whatever the cause, dental phobia can prevent us from getting the dental treatment we need unless in an emergency and this can lead to serious health issues in the future. Treating this phobia in some cases can be extremely difficult for dentists. But modern practises have recognised that there is a problem and offer relaxation, psychological and hypnotherapy treatments along with the tried and tested method of pharmacological treatments, ranging from mild sedation to knocking out the patient altogether.