Are you afraid of going to the dentist?

[j4premed]

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We've all been exposed to the cliche' of people being afraid of the dentist. Were/Are you personally afraid to go? I've seen many kids, as well as adults, scared out of their minds to go, but I don't really understand why. Granted, I've never had a cavity, but I've had several permanent teeth pulled, so I've had a few significant procedures... If the cliche' did not exist, would people look forward to their appointments more?

 

[vsun]

I think the cliche exists because everytime you goto the dentist, they cause you pain. Whether it is prodding around your mouth with the explorer making your gums bleed. Or giving you an injection for some fillings.
Also its not very comfortable to have ones mouth open wide for so long, almost choking on your own spit part of the time.
All in all I guess every dental visit is an uncomfortable experience, so people get anxious about visiting the dentist. Whereas a visit to the doctor's office you go because you have a cold or something and they give you medicine for it.

 

[benlittle]

I didn't like going to the dentist until I wanted to become one. Now rather than focusing on the pain, I have found I focus on what he's doing. I've started asking for a mirror to hold up so I can watch😱 Does this count as shadowing?? LOL j/k

 

[tinman831]

We've all been exposed to the cliche' of people being afraid of the dentist. Were/Are you personally afraid to go? I've seen many kids, as well as adults, scared out of their minds to go, but I don't really understand why. Granted, I've never had a cavity, but I've had several permanent teeth pulled, so I've had a few significant procedures... If the cliche' did not exist, would people look forward to their appointments more?

It's cliche because it's true for the most part. You are invading someone's personal space. Working and manipulating their body and causing them discomfort. For someone who never has had a cavity and had to visit the doctor for more than just recall exams, it may be hard to understand, but if you're the patient who is in pain, see's the dentist every other week, you'd know why. Going to the dentist is a chore, it's not fun. No one goes to the dentist because they want to, it's because they need to.

 

[Vicviper]

Idunno, I actually always kinda liked going to the dentist, even when I had to get a root canal because of a broken tooth due to a tooth to concrete collision. I just love the chairs, they're so comfortable, I always felt very relaxed and restful there.

My Amalgam professor had a very good answer to the question of why is everyone afraid to go to the dentist, and it was that because back in the 40's and 50's, before high speed handpieces were in common use, going to the dentist was a HORRIBLE experience. Painful and uncomfortable for long periods of time. And so it's more or less gotten passed on to the next generation, and so what should be the expectation of minor pain when going to the dentist, gets completely blown out of proportion in the minds of patients.

 

[SeattleRDH]

Technology has come a long way in the last 50 years and your older patient's may have had bad experiences when they were kids. And a bad experience at the dentist can stick with you for a lifetime. In my experience kids sense this nervous energy from their parents so I prefer that the parents don't come back to the operatory during restorative appointments. Especially during the injection. You can hide the needle from the child and divert their attention but you can't trust the parent to not say "here come's the needle, it'll only hurt for a minute." I can't stand it when they do that.

 

[dentalWorks]

not afraid, just annoyed. and mind you, my sister is my dentist lol.

I just hate keeping my mouth open for more than 15 minutes, my jaw muscles get tired and she keeps screaming at me "OPEN UP!!!"....... DAMN IT IM TIRED !!!!