Embarrassed About Your Teeth And Fear The Dentist Will Berate, Humiliate, Or Judge You?
Your avoidance of the dental office probably started when you were young. Dental anxiety or fear often begins in childhood and carries over to adulthood.
By the time you reach your mid-twenties or early thirties, it is entirely possible that you have avoided the dentist’s office for a decade or more.The result of this avoidance is ongoing and extensive damage to your oral health and, more to the point, your teeth.
This often compounds the problem because now on top of your dental fear you are dealing with embarrassment about the condition of your teeth and prefer to avoid the lecture you are sure is coming from a dental professional. This is a very common scenario that is played out again and again all over the country.
Common Thoughts
If this sounds familiar, you are likely suffering from dental anxiety that stems from a fear of being humiliated by your dentist. Internal dialogue is your number one enemy when you are afraid of what a dentist might say to you about the condition of your teeth.
Many people feel like they have the worse teeth on the planet. They can envision a dentist jumping back in horror at the condition of their teeth. If you are afraid that your dentist may use your teeth as a case study for the worse case of decay in history, you are suffering from a high level of dental anxiety!
Left unaddressed, this level of embarrassment can lead to depression, social avoidance and even thoughts of suicide for severe cases. Even if your dental problems are in the back of your mouth and unseen by most of the world, just the fact that you can feel the holes in your teeth with your tongue can be quite disconcerting.
Causes of this Dental Fear
In order to deal with this kind of dental anxiety it is important to understand where the fear comes from. Many people have experienced an old school dentist who believed the best way to encourage a patient to take better care of their teeth was by berating them.
For many years the idea of strict authoritarian attitudes permeated many areas, including parenting, which created doctors and dentists with this same type of attitude. Thankfully, this has changed over the years to a more sensitive, caring approach.
It could be that you have never experienced an old school dentist, but society’s emphasis on beauty and perfection has increased your embarrassment about your teeth. Yellowed, broken or missing teeth are not the most attractive thing in the world.But do not allow fear of judgment by dentists or others hold you back from treatment.
Money is at the root of a good deal of missed dental appointments, especially in the current economy. Good dental insurance is hard to find and cash has been hard to come by in many households, which can lead to dental neglect. If you are afraid that your dentist will come to negative conclusions about you or your financial status, do not be.Dentists see this kind of thing a lot and they understand.
Options
Regardless of what started your dental fear and anxiety, you truly need to overcome it in order to begin taking care of your oral health. To help you do this, it is important that you learn all you can about new dental procedures that can make your trip to the dentist more pleasant or at least tolerable.
Sedation dentistry is an option your dentist can use to make your visit more enjoyable. Before your visit, you will be instructed to take medication, then again when you arrive. By the time you are sitting in the dental chair you will be quite relaxed and, in all honesty, you probably will not remember much about your trip.
Very few people like needles, and it is nearly impossible to have dental work done without a shot to numb your gums. In the past, the only way to deal with shots was to, pardon the pun, grit your teeth and bear it. Today your dentist can numb the gum with a topical solution before giving you a shot to numb the tooth area.
Conclusion
It is very doubtful that you have the worst mouth on the planet; your dentist has more than likely seen much worse in his profession. This type of dental anxiety, while common, is hard to overcome. You must actually make an appointment and see the dentist to discover that he or she is not going to berate or humiliate you over the condition of your teeth.
If you still believe that you have the worst case ever seen, check out the internet for images. A simple search for bad teeth pictures should suffice.But be warned, there are some rough images out there! Think of it as therapeutic searching to help you overcome your dental fear.
You know, even if you did have the absolute worst teeth ever imagined, your dentist is a trained professional whose main drive is to help you. There may still be a few of the old crusty, cranky dentists out there, but they are becoming extinct. You can overcome this type of dental anxiety by simply getting out there and talking to other patients and even the staff at the dental office you are considering.
However, if you suffer from severe embarrassment, you may need a heath coach or counselor to overcome it in order to receive the dental care you need.
There have been many amazing advancements made recently in our ability to overcome embarrassment. If you are unable to conquer your embarrassment on your own, you should definitely explore these new techniques.