Afraid of the dentist

Afraid of the dentist?

North Street Dental and Implant Clinic promises:

To listen and give as much time as you need
To be non-judgmental about your teeth – we’ve probably seen much worse
To endeavour to understand the dental fears you have and to respect the reason why you have them
To be friendly, patient and build trust with you
To work together at your pace to restore good oral health

Afraid of the dentist? Call us for help

All cases are different

There’s no such thing as a classic case for dental phobia, and after spiders and heights, it‘s the third most common thing that scares the life out of us.
Putting health at risk

Practice manager and sedation nurse Becky Brown has a particular interest in those who are afraid of the dentist and oversees their patient journey.

Whether the dentist’s drill, needles, apprehension over pain, gagging, or something else to blame for these crippling anxieties, avoiding them puts people’s health at risk.

The health benefits of good oral health

A medical study of 1,000 people showed those who’d had their teeth cleaned by a dentist or hygienist twice or more over two years had a 24 per cent lower risk of heart disease and 13 per cent lower risk of a stroke.

The possible link is gum disease – the same bacteria found in the mouth have also been found in the hearts of people with coronary disease. These bacteria can also travel to the lungs.

The Yale School of Medicine found an increased rate of pneumonia among those with poor dental health.

And poor oral health has also been linked to cancer: A study published by the journal BMJ discovered that people with a lot of dental plaque are more likely to die of cancer. The reason isn’t yet understood.

Dentophobia – being scared of the dentist

They call it dentophobia – a widespread affliction where sufferers are scared stiff of going to the dentist.

Figures suggest that about 12 per cent of us, both old and young, experience extreme dental anxiety. The British Dental Association (BDA) says that 25 per cent of the UK population undergoes some apprehension before visiting the dentist. That’s an awful lot of people.

Panic attacks, fainting, being tense, hyperventilating and just “being terrified” are all symptoms of an all-too-common problem – going to the dentist.

A national issue that Dudley based North Street Dental has taken to heart, has seen the team working alongside mental health charity MIND to train staff in dealing with being afraid of the dentist.

Read our blog post on dentophobia.

Afraid of the dentist