The fact that many people encounter feelings of fear and anxiety when they think about consulting a dentist or receiving dental treatment is not unknown. Millions of people across the world refrain from visiting a dentist due to these feelings. Their fear, nervousness, or anxiety becomes a major hindrance in their way of receiving appropriate treatments for getting rid of dental issues.
Therefore, sleep dentistry Melbourne has grown in popularity. Sleep dentistry has become an ideal solution for patients who suffer from dental phobia. The terms ‘dental phobia’, ‘dentophobia’ and ‘odontophobia’ are used for referring to the fear related to the dentists.
Dental fear and anxiety can be very stressful, mainly due to the fact that some people, who suffer from such conditions usually avoid dental examinations. As a result, they neglect their dental health, thereby inviting dental problems unintentionally. Fortunately, in today’s time, these people have a solution known as sleep dentistry. With the help of sleep dentistry, they can undergo the required dental procedures without experiencing any fear or worry.
Dental Fear and Anxiety: Explained in a Nutshell
Dental phobia or dental anxiety generates feelings of extreme discomfort, irritability, and fear whenever a personthinks about visitinga dentist or plans to visit a dentist. Your anxiety may be caused by a dental clinic, various dental tools, or a dentist.
While feeling scared of dentists in childhood is quite normal or acceptable, feeling scared after growing up is a sign of serious concern. If you are one of those who start feeling uncomfortable while discussing dental issues or dental visits, you should address this issue as soon as possible. Usually, people don’t come to know they have dental phobia until it’s too late.
But you can find out whether you are suffering from the fear or anxiety related to dentists. You just need to ask some questions to yourself, for example, “When was the last time I visited a dental clinic or hospital?” and “Do I cancel or postpone the dental appointment?”.
Odontophobia: Harmful Effects on Your Dental Health
As we have explained earlier in this article, odontophobia can create a negative impact on your dental health or appearance or both.When you have severe dental phobia, you might not consider ‘dental appointment’ and ‘dental issue’ as different situations. You will think that suffering from intolerable pain or discomfort caused by dental issues is better than consulting a dental practitioner.
Despite encountering dental problems, you might continue to avoid dental visits. If at all, you schedule an appointment with a dentist after being forced by family, friends, or colleagues, you will have trouble sleeping on the night before the day of your dentist visit.
Avoiding dental visits and ignoring dental health has unfavourable and dangerous consequences. Your existing dental problems might become complicated. Moreover, you might develop new dental problems depending on your existing dental problems and dental hygiene habits. Loose teeth, worn-down teeth, gum infections, gingivitis, and periodontal diseases are some of these problems. If you have cosmetic dental issues, such as misaligned teeth, stained teeth, or gapped teeth, receiving treatments is necessary.
When the structure of your teeth is damaged, it will become difficult for you to perform some functions, like speaking, chewing, and smiling. Living with such cosmetic dental issues, for instance, a gummy smile or an uneven smile can take a toll on your confidence level.
Dental Phobia: Tips that You Can Use for Dealing with It
You can use the following tips for dealing with your dental phobia so that undergoing dental treatment procedures can become easy for you.
- You should practice good oral hygiene habits for preventing oral diseases, emergency dental situations, and minimising dental check-ups.
- You should select a dentist with whom you feel comfortable or a dentist who is trained in treating patients suffering from odontophobia.
- You should visit the dental clinic or hospital at least once before the day of treatment to check the tools, facilities, and environment.
- You should let your dentist know about your dental phobia beforehand so that they can design your treatment plan accordingly.
Once you face your dental phobia with mental strength and discuss the same with your dentist, you can receive dental treatments with a calm and relaxed mind. In the case of patients with dental anxiety or dear, dental practitioners use sleep dentistry.
Final Words
Sleep dentistry can make receiving a dental treatment a smooth affair for you as you will remain unconscious during the whole procedure.