What is Dentophobia?

Dentophobia is a fear of dental care, and, by extension, people who provide dental care, such as dentists. This condition is also known as dental fear, odontophobia, or dental anxiety. Surveys estimate that many people suffer from this condition to varying degrees, and fortunately there are an assortment of ways to treat and deal with dental phobia. For people with extreme dentophobia, it is important to seek treatment, as untreated dental conditions can have serious medical repercussions. There are a number of causes for dentophobia. Many people have traumatic experiences as children which cause them to develop a fear of dentists, for example, and others are simply head shy. Dental work can be stressful, especially when drills are involved, as it is accompanied by strange sensations and sounds, and dental procedures can leave a lingering pain behind. The field of dentistry in general is also often viewed negatively by laymen, who exchange horror stories about dental fears which can ...  more