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Dental News
Does dental anxiety cause your heart to start pounding and your palms start sweating before you even sit in the dentist's chair? Well, you're not alone. The latest Adult Dental Health Survey from England found that 18% of adult women and 10% of adult men are classified as having "extreme dental anxiety".
However, these people's level of dental anxiety may have more to do with prior memories of pain they experienced in the past than with the dental procedure they're about to undergo according from a study recently published in the Journal of Dental Research. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of West Virginia who surveyed 79 people in need of an emergency tooth extraction at the oral surgery clinic.
Study participants were asked about their fear and pain before the extraction, during it and two weeks later. Before having the tooth pulled, highly anxious people expected to feel more pain than those with low anxiety did. Two weeks later, everyone in the study exaggerated how much pain they had felt during treatment, even subjects who did not report that they were anxious about the treatment. That is, they recalled feeling more pain during treatment than they said they did at the time. People with high levels of dental-related anxiousness also recalled feeling more anxious than they said they were at the time.
The authors suggest that controlling dental anxiety levels before treatment may be helpful. This can be done with medications or behavioral strategies.
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
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It is only certain things about the dentist that give me anxiety. I don't mind the fluoride or the polishing. But I get sweaty palms from even thinking about getting a shot. I also can't stand when the dentist flosses my teeth. Fortunately, I have a great dentist now, James Snow DDS. Great article, it is interesting to read about the anxiety that I experience from another point of view!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your post that there are many people who are afraid of visiting dentist..I was among them but now i have overcome my problem. I always visit clinic and start playing with my mobile game or listen to my favorite music just to divert the attention and while sitting on chair my dentist knows about fear so he help me a lot and try to comfort me first before examine..
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your personal experience with us. Anything that can help others feel comfortable while in the dentist's chair is always appreciated.
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