Do You Have Dental Anxiety?

If you’re on our dental implants website, there’s a good chance you’ve suffered from dental anxiety at some point in your life. Even if you haven’t, you probably know someone who does.

It’s not uncommon for people with dental anxiety to skip out on their dental appointments. We’re not trying to reprimand you here, but this usually makes a bad situation worse. Oftentimes, patients with dental anxiety will avoid having their cavities filled.

This fear of the dentist leads patients to avoid the drill at all costs and put off their dental work. Putting off a cavity causes it to gets larger, until it reaches the pulp of the tooth, and then patients need a root canal. If they’re not in excruciating pain at that point, sometimes patients with dental phobia will even avoid the dentist for a root canal, leading to painful abscesses or tooth loss.

Signs You Have a Dental Phobia

Everybody has fears and phobias for one reason or another. Knowing your fears is the first key in understanding how to cope with them. You might dislike the dentist, but not understand why. There are quite a few symptoms that you have dental anxiety.

• Trouble sleeping before your appointment. Do you ever have trouble sleeping, when you’re nervous before a big event or test? Well, school exams aren’t the only thing that might keep you awake at night. One sign of a dental phobia is having trouble sleeping the night before your dental exam. If you’re tossing and turning at night fearing for the impending doom of your dental cleaning, you should think about getting help for your dental anxiety.

• Feeling anxiety while in the waiting room. Does your stomach get in knots the second you step into your dentist’s waiting room? If the latest issues of National Geographic at your dentist’s waiting room isn’t even enough to take your mind off the anxiety, you’re probably dealing with dental anxiety.

• The thought of going to the dentist makes you feel sad. If the sound and sight of dental instruments, or even seeing dentists and hygienists in their uniforms, has you on the verge of tears, you’re suffering from dental fear.

• The idea of going to the dentist makes you feel physically sick. A good sign that you have dental anxiety is if the mere act of scheduling your dental appointment makes you queasy. Feeling nauseas and losing your appetite is a common anxiety symptom.

• Being in the dentist’s office makes you panic or causes a sharp pain in your chest. Oftentimes, panic attacks are mistaken as heart attacks. A common symptom of anxiety is shortness of breath and chest pains.

If you experience any of these symptoms surrounding the dentist, we recommend seeking help. Even talking to your dentist about your worries might be enough to help you feel at ease. Chances are that your dentist will change the way he or she treats you, helping you feel more comfortable at your appointments.