By Kayla Lugo
It is no secret that people fear going to the dentist. Some put it off entirely because they’re just too scared. However, dental anxiety is scarier than going to the dentist.
What exactly is dental anxiety? Dental anxiety is a fear of going to the dentist. However, fearing the tooth doctor is not just for children. Adults can have dental anxiety too.
Multiple factors are involved with dental anxiety. Whether it’d be the blood-curling sound of a drill, the fainting at the sight of blood, or the jaw-dropping bill that tags along, all are factored into dental anxiety.
There is a correlation between adults having dental anxiety and passing it down to their children. In Joseph Riley’s article “Childhood Dental History and Adult Dental Attitudes and Beliefs,” he wrote, “Of those with a childhood visit, 72% reported that the first dental visit was a negative experience.”
“A predisposition for anxiety can be genetically linked,” dental hygiene and dental assisting program coordinator Pamela Livingston said about dental anxiety being passed down to children from their parents. “We also see that parents that have dental anxiety may unknowingly influence their children’s feelings toward going to the dentist.”
This could be a result of people seeing the dentist as evil. This is mainly due to dentists as bad guys in television, film, and literature. Two prime examples are Willy Wonka’s father in the 2005 film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and Dr. Jane Payne from the “Wayside School” book series. However, those portrayals are false.
Another factor that draws people away from the dentist is how they feel about dental care. “Dental treatment can feel invasive,” Livingston said regarding how people feel about dental care. “A patient may feel a loss of control when receiving dental treatment.” Dental anxiety is different from dentophobia, an anxiety disorder of the dentist.
Regardless, not professionally maintaining oral health can impact the quality of life. In Newal Alabdul Razzak and Nilufer Demirsoy’s article “Evaluation of the Effect of Dental Anxiety on the Quality of Life of the Patients,” their research concluded that “The quality of life associated with oral health decreases for individuals with high levels of dental anxiety.”
Having poor oral health is also tied to people having mental illnesses, according to an article written by Peter C. Lam, John A. Dolly et al. In the academic journal “Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Among Publicly Insured Mental Health Service Outpatients With Serious Mental Illness” the authors state that “Individuals with serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, tend to have worse oral health than individuals without these psychiatric conditions, including higher rates of untreated caries and temporomandibular joint disorder, increased tooth decay and tooth loss, greater need for tooth extractions, and worse periodontal health.”
However, there’s one place people can go to get vital oral health that doesn’t have jaw-dropping dental bills: the Dental Clinic at Delta College. The clinic provides multiple services, including cleanings, x-rays, fluoride treatments, and more. Even though they don’t accept insurance, the prices are low because the clinic is an educational resource for dental students.
“We have come a very long way in the prevention and handling of dental anxiety in the past 30-40 years,” Livingston said about what the future looks like for dental anxiety. “There will always be dental anxiety, but we are finding effective ways to prevent and treat this.”
Livingston elaborated more on practical ways and discussed what patients could do to reduce dental anxiety. “Patients may find that bringing headphones to listen to music, a podcast or audiobook may be a good distraction,” Livingston said about the compelling ways for patients to reduce dental anxiety. “Getting regular cleanings and check-ups, eating healthy, being active, and following instructions for their daily home care provided by the hygienist can help as well.”
Finally, Livingston discussed what dental offices are doing to reduce dental anxiety.
“Dental offices often use calming colors, play relaxing music, have the office personnel be calm, positive, and reassuring, have water fountains, etc.,” Livingston said. “Some offices offer Nitrous Oxide [also known as] laughing gas, and in some cases, a patient is prescribed a medication to take the night before and morning of their appointment to help them relax.”
