SYMPTOMS OF DENTAL PHOBIA - Fears N Phobias

Symptoms of Dental Phobia are those features YOU experience and the impact of Dental Phobia on you.

IS THIS YOU?

BODY – all the effects of Adrenaline on the system. Acute anxiety and Panic Attack. Heart racing, tight chest and fast breathing, shaky.
MIND – Catastrophic thoughts dominate your thinking. “It’s going to be awful” “I’m going to lose all my teeth” “I’m going to make a fool of myself” or even, “I’m going to die”
SELF IMAGE – “What will others think of me?” “I’m the only one like this” “There can’t be anyone worse” “I must be weak, stupid, no will power” “No one understands“
SOCIAL/FAMILY LIFE – Avoids close contact to hide oral condition. Fears re appearance/bad breath. Sleep disturbance.
MEMORY: Flashbacks /Traumatic episodes

All leads to avoidance of the dental environment and consequences:

Puts up with pain – sometimes for weeks.
Self-medicates ; pain killers, antibiotics
Change eating habits to avoid foods/pain e.g. Hard food, cold liquids or ice
Attempts at good oral hygiene to ‘Keep the dentist away’.

If you identify with many or all of these symptoms of dental phobia then you live in fear of a dental disaster but you CAN be helped

TREATMENT OF DENTAL PHOBIA

YOU CAN DEFINITELY BE SUCCESSFULLY HELPED TO OVERCOME YOUR DENTAL PHOBIA!

The most important fact to hold on to and understand is that YOU ARE NORMAL! Your brain is doing exactly what it was evolved to do over millions of years – identify situations it believes are harmful, and respond to it by ‘fight,flight or freeze’!

If you have been terrified in a dental context – Anaesthetic, Extraction, Root Treatment and/or PAIN for example, then the Brain will act to prevent you from ‘making the same mistake twice’! That’s its job! (See Neuro-biology of Anxiety).

Most importantly,unlike computers, the Brain CAN re-program itself if it is given new and contrary information. Personal experience does this very rapidly. Because of this up to 70% of sufferers who were labelled as ‘Dental Phobic’ are helped within two treatment sessions.

The detailed steps to deal with Dental Phobia are HERE.