Our Top Tips to Overcome Your Dental Phobia

First thing is first: congratulations on taking the first step by reading this article from dentalphobia.co.uk and beginning to crush your fear!

Secondly, does this below sound like something you've experienced before....?

Do you find yourself panicking and filled with dread when you finally have run out of excuses not to go to the dentist? Your tooth is giving you unimaginable grief? Your nagging partner won't stop with "it's just the dentist, what's your problem?".

You've picked up the phone and now you're on hold, anxious and sweaty palms.. A tiny version of Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball repeats in your ear as the tension grows inside your shoulders...

"two people remaining in the queue" An evil robot lady abruptly interrupts your Miley chorus.

"One person remaining in the queue" Again? Who booked an appointment so qui... They must've hung up from fear you tell yourself. 'BEEEPPPPP' you follow suit and quickly swipe the red button, ending the palpitations and the phobia temporarily wanes.

If that little anecdote strikes a chord of familiarity in any way, then first of all just know YOU ARE NOT ALONE. A recent survey showed that a staggering 53% of UK residents have some sort of anxiety or fear when faced with a visit to the dentist. We at dentalphobia.co.uk are here to help and offer you guides and resources to conquer the prison of fear surrounding your mind when it comes to check up time.

HOW DENTALPHOBIA.CO.UK CAN HELP

This website was originally set up by a group of people who previously suffered from and consequently vanquished any dental phobia and now all by the way are sporting a perfect set of teeth and smile ;) and you can too. We offer a range of suggestive treatments and thought exercises as well as a team to contact either by email, phone or social media who are willing to help with any lingering concerns.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR PHOBIA

One of the most important steps to defeating your fears is learning about the origins and/or the nature of that fear. An essential part of the puzzle that when remembered can be logically relinquished. Mine for example was from I was 12 and I had a rather unpleasant old dentist telling me I had horrible teeth. Silly as that but I hardly opened my mouth for two weeks after and hated dentists for years after that!

SYMPTOMS OF DENTAL PHOBIA

Symptoms vary from person to person of course in severity but here are a few common ones that people suffer from
Heart throbbing (palpitations). Heart racing (tachycardia)
Elevated blood pressure (hypertension). Trembling and tremor
Dry mouth. Nausea. Urge to urinate
Feeling of suffocation. Fainting. Struggling to sleep

CONSEQUENCES OF DENTAL PHOBIA

Without trivialising the seriousness of dental phobia, the symptoms and feelings of this are insignificant compared to the possible and likely consequences of avoiding the dentist altogether. Every dentist had a horror story about someone too scared to see them that they disastrously and sometimes if we're honest quote hilariously attempted self treatment.(mine told me about someone who made a fake molar out of a tree in their garden. Brilliant craftsmanship he said but led to a few problems as you'd expect.

Here are the likely problems that will be encountered without proper treatment:

Bad breath
Gum disease
Tooth loss
Toothache
Discoloration and plaque buildup

Unfortunately unless you have suffered from any of these symptoms then you won't appreciate how much worse than beating your phobia they really are.

THERE IS HOPE AND SUPPORT ALWAYS

So, after all that, just remember that you can and will beat this phobia and we are here to help you along the way. Stay positive and believe you can, BECAUSE YOU CAN. Thousands before you have freed themselves from dental phobia. Please visit our website for more details at DentalPhobia.co.uk.