Fear of the dentist is one of the most powerful fears of mankind. Going to the doctor becomes a challenge for many, but some patients fall into real panic even at the slightest hint of the need for dental treatment.
Dentophobia is the name given to panic fear of dental procedures; It is imperative to get rid of it, because dental health is an integral part of the health of the whole body.
What if there is gangrene?
Any modern person knows that prevention is better than cure, that “twice a year is a must...”, however, most of us tend to delay a visit to a medical facility as long as possible. Even if you are not inclined to dramatize, suspecting you are having a heart attack as soon as you feel a pain in your chest, or seeing gangrene in any pimple, it is still scary. And the same person who knows everything about prevention and medical examination will rush not to the clinic, but to the computer: study the symptoms and make a diagnosis. You endlessly study the Internet in search of similar symptoms and, of course, find the very diagnosis that you fear most. Then planning a visit to the doctor turns into real torture.
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Fear of medical procedures
Medical procedures can be unpleasant and painful. In the United States, high rates of no-shows for colon cancer screenings have more to do with the procedure itself than with fear of the diagnosis. If you take our country, almost no one comes for a repeat FGDS procedure to monitor the condition after treatment.
Why do these unpleasant manipulations if nothing bothers you? To find out whether the treatment helped, doctors often insist on this procedure, we agree, but, leaving the office, we immediately forget about it. If a person has a medical education and is disciplined in this regard or is in a hospital, then he will undergo all the unpleasant medical procedures, because he has no choice. In all other cases, examinations will be postponed until the next relapse of the disease.
help yourself
We are not talking about self-medication, but about reducing anxiety. Psychologists have a concept called “fear of fear.” A person knows that anxiety increases blood pressure, and begins to worry about his anxiety... The strong-willed messages “I shouldn’t be afraid... I should be calm...” have the opposite effect.
Don't stop yourself from worrying. Just set aside a certain time for anxiety. For example, as a smart person, I get anxious not knowing what is happening. I have every right to worry. And will. Today from 17.34 to 17.47. And don't forget to track the time accurately.
You can reduce the degree of emotional stress if you make going to the clinic a routine procedure. Plan your day so that before visiting the doctor there are completely mundane things to do: pay utility bills, walk the dog, go to the doctor, and then head to the mall. Then a consultation with a doctor will no longer seem like something out of the ordinary, and everyday worries rarely cause fear. Try to make sure that upon returning from the clinic you have the opportunity to have a pleasant time, for example, buy yourself some new clothes or cook your favorite dish - a small reward for those who overcame fear certainly won’t hurt. However, this does not mean that you should perceive going to the doctor as a feat, so something too desirable or expensive should not be used as a reward. And be extremely careful with the desire to treat yourself to something tasty for the suffering you have experienced. The habit of stress eating is very easy to form and is very expensive: excess weight and the risk of the most serious diseases associated with it, too expensive a price to pay for the momentary pleasure of a sausage or cake.
It’s useful to imagine how, a few years later, you are laughingly telling your children or grandchildren how worried you were about an illness that turned out to be pure nonsense, how you put off visiting a doctor out of fear, and how you were tormented by imaginary problems.
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Reasons for being afraid of the dentist
There are brave souls who fearlessly go to the dentist and rejoice in the fact that they will soon become even healthier, but there are very few of them. Most people dread going to the dentist. The reasons why patients are afraid to go to the dentist are common fears.
Fear #1. It will hurt me a lot!
Fear of pain is the most common and severe, and can arise for several reasons:
- Stories from relatives or friends about the pain they experienced during dental treatment. Stories from the distant past sound especially frightening, when there were no effective painkillers, and old drills inspired fear not only with their sound, but also with their appearance.
- Fear coming from childhood. Often parents choose the wrong tactics for hygienic education of children: by forcing children to brush their teeth, they scare them with toothache and doctors. In adulthood, the subconscious revives pictures from childhood, and fear appears.
- Personal negative experience of dental treatment. A person remembers all the painful procedures he had to endure at the dentist's office.
- Low threshold of pain sensitivity in the patient.
How to deal with this fear You need to understand that modern dentistry allows you to treat your teeth completely painlessly. There are two types of anesthesia:
- Local - the anesthetic relieves sensitivity only where medical intervention is planned. To administer anesthesia, carpule syringes are used, the needles of which are thinner than those of any other disposable syringes. This allows you to reduce pain during the injection. Modern anesthetics Ultracaine, Septanest, Mepivastezin, Ubistezin are several times superior in pain-relieving power to novocaine and lidocaine, which were used previously. If the patient is afraid of even minor pain, an anesthetic gel or spray with lidocaine is applied to the gum before inserting the needle.
- General is general anesthesia, it is performed using narcotic analgesics. They are administered by inhalation or intravenously, while the patient’s consciousness is turned off. General anesthesia is used when local anesthesia is ineffective, when there is a large volume of surgery, and for some medical reasons.
Sedation is also used - with the help of special drugs, the patient is put into a state of semi-sleep, but at the same time he can communicate with the doctor. The feeling of fear disappears, indifference to any manipulation appears, and mood improves. Sedation does not eliminate pain and is therefore combined with local anesthesia.
Modern equipment, which is equipped with an effective cooling system, also helps reduce pain. The use of ultrasound and laser systems in surgical dentistry facilitates complex operations.
Treatment of caries in the initial stages is possible without a drill with Icon technology: tissues affected by caries are softened with a special gel and removed; Icon liquid filling is applied on top.
Advice: Familiarize yourself with modern methods of pain relief and dental treatment, study information about clinics in your city.
When you decide to come for an appointment, tell the doctor about your fears. Agree with him on some kind of conditional sign that you will give if you suddenly feel unpleasant or hurt. The doctor will immediately stop the manipulations and take measures, for example, increasing the anesthesia.
Fear No. 2. I'm afraid of the doctor's judgment
Often, patients with bad teeth are afraid to go to an appointment only because they feel that the dentist will judge, shame them for their oral health, or express their disgust.
How to deal with this fear Think about how many different people the dentist has seen over the years of his work; it is unlikely that everyone’s dental condition was ideal.
Advice: look on the Internet for pictures of some dental diseases, for example, generalized caries. For a doctor, such things are everyday practice, and he certainly won’t be surprised by your teeth.
Fear #3. I'm afraid that the tooth will be removed. As long as it doesn’t hurt too much, I won’t go!
Many people, not understanding the specifics of treatment, believe that if a tooth starts to hurt, the doctor will remove it, so they avoid visiting the dentist’s office for as long as possible. Or they wait until the slight pain in the tooth goes away on its own.
How to deal with this fear It is important to understand here that teeth will never be restored without the help of a dentist. No competent specialist will remove a tooth that can be saved. But the longer a tooth is left untreated, the less likely it is to save it; the health of other organs is at risk. For example, if in the initial stages of caries you can only get by with a filling, then delaying treatment can lead to the development of pulpitis, then periodontitis, destruction of the jaw bone tissue will begin, and the infection will spread through the bloodstream to other organs (heart, kidneys).
If a tooth is lost, prosthetics will be needed to restore the chewing and aesthetic functions of the jaw, and this entails an increase in the cost of treatment. It is wiser to protect the natural health of your teeth.
Advice: Make an appointment with your doctor for a consultation without treatment. Discuss with your doctor the condition of your teeth, upcoming procedures and their cost. Ask your dentist what processes will occur in the diseased tooth if it is not treated; what complications does this threaten?
Fear No. 4: The doctor will make a mistake or infect me with something.
If you had a negative treatment experience in the past, an incorrect diagnosis was made and complications arose because of this, it is natural to fear that history will repeat itself.
Due to the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis viruses, cases of infection with these infections through dental instruments are widely known. Therefore, the fear of becoming infected during treatment is well founded.
How to deal with this fear The fear of medical error can be avoided by turning to a specialist who regularly treats good friends or relatives. Numerous positive reviews about the dentist will reassure you and give you confidence.
Some patients are frightened by the unknown: not knowing what the doctor is doing, they simply shrink in fear in the chair. An attentive dentist will explain his actions, which will relieve all the patient’s worries and fears.
For those who are afraid of contracting hepatitis or HIV infection, dental clinics offer the “AntiAIDS-Antihepatitis” program: it includes using a special method to ensure the sterility of all instruments and materials.
Advice: make an appointment with a doctor, talk to him, get acquainted with the equipment in his office and methods of work. Find out which clinic in your city takes part in the AntiAIDS-Antihepatitis program.
What to do with health
Sometimes feeling unwell gives certain bonuses. Firstly, the patient is given more attention and freed from everyday problems, and secondly, anxiety about health fills the inner emptiness. It is beneficial for a person to be sick, since it gives indulgence to do nothing (I feel so bad), to be irresponsible (you have no right to demand when I am in this state), to be unsuccessful (if I were healthy, then, of course, I would and so...).
To get out of this situation, first think about what your illness gives you. Then ask yourself the question: “What will I do when I stop getting sick and worrying? What will I do when I feel good?” The question “Why be healthy?” It sounds almost absurd (obviously), but this is a really serious question that requires the most honest answer possible. Lying to yourself is an expensive pleasure. Maybe you could finally tidy up your summer cottage or take care of your grandchildren? Or maybe you have long been dreaming of a vacation in warmer climes? If the motivation is strong enough, the fear of going to the doctor will disappear by itself.
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And if still...
Unfortunately, fears for your health are not always unfounded. Many people have real reasons to worry. Don't push away heavy thoughts. Instead, imagine the worst-case scenario. Think through in detail what you will do if your nightmares come true, how your loved ones will behave. Do this once. And then tell yourself: “So, there is an action plan for the most extreme case, now I will consider less exotic options.”
After this, try to imagine how else your problem can be resolved, what possibilities, options, and outcomes exist. Now it’s no longer so scary to think about a plan of action, because the ultimate option has been worked out and put aside.
And then the horror that eats you from the inside will be replaced by specific actions. This means that you will be able to talk more calmly about what is happening to you and look for the best way out of difficult circumstances - sign up for consultations with different specialists, undergo additional examinations, try different treatment regimens. Once you take action, fear will go away.
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“I’m afraid of doctors: about the reasons for the fear of white coats”
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“I’m afraid of doctors: about the reasons for the fear of white coats”
My knees are shaking!
It happens that panic seizes the patient before leaving home or on the way to the clinic. In this case, relaxation exercises will help.
If your health allows, do exercises or cleaning - any physical activity reduces stress levels and gives an outlet for accumulated adrenaline. If there is no way to relieve tension in this way, then at least go to the doctor on foot, and not by bus.
Breathing with a long exhalation. This is a yoga exercise. Breathe so that the exhalation is 1.5 times longer than the inhalation. In just 2-3 minutes you will feel the tension go away and your heart rate normalize. When the heartbeat is disrupted, the body perceives this as a threat - and panic intensifies.
Smile or bare your teeth. You can take a pencil in your teeth so that it is parallel to your shoulders and stretch your lips. If the muscles that are involved in smiling are engaged, the muscles of the collar zone automatically relax. And when the neck and shoulders are not constrained, the person calms down.
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