Dental Fear - Treatment

Treatment

Treatments for dental fear often include a combination of behavioral and pharmacological techniques. Specialized dental fear clinics use both psychologists and dentists to help people learn to manage and decrease their fear of dental treatment. The goal of these clinics is to provide individuals with the fear management skills necessary for them to receive regular dental care with a minimum of fear or anxiety. While specialized clinics exist to help individuals manage and overcome their fear of dentistry, they are rare. Many dental providers outside of such clinics use similar behavioral and cognitive strategies to help patients reduce their fear.

Many people who suffer from dental fear may be successfully treated with a combination of "look, see, do" and gentle dentistry. People fear what they don't understand and they also, logically, dislike pain. If someone has had one or more painful past experiences in a dental office then their fear is completely rational and they should be treated supportively. Non-graphic photographs taken pre-operatively, intra-operatively and post-operatively can explain the needed dentistry. Pharmacologic management may include an anxiety-reducing medication taken in a pill, intravenously and/or using Nitrous Oxide (laughing) gas. Most importantly is the need to provide an injection of anesthetic extremely gently. Certain parts of the mouth are much more sensitive than other parts; therefore it is possible to provide local anesthesia (a "novocaine" shot) in the less sensitive area first and then moving the injection within the zone of just-anesthetized tissue to the more sensitive area of the mouth. This is one example of how a dentist can dramatically reduce the sensation of pain from a "shot." Another idea is to allow the novocaine time (5 – 15 minutes) to anesthetize the area before beginning dental treatment.