Dental Phobia

Dental phobia can cause such intense traumatic anxiety that a patient may even cancel a dental visit, according to a survey.

Earlier studies had established that the stress that people go through is physiological or psychological. The body responds to this anxiety by releasing catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine, from the adrenal medulla into the cardiovascular system.

Dentists need to be aware that early scheduling of appointments, minimizing waiting time, understanding the patient's resentment over his own vulnerability could remove much of the stress.

Postoperative management of pain and anxiety is critical as complications might come up during the 24 hours after treatment. Stress reduction protocols would keep the risks under control.

Strategies to reduce the anxiety could be brief relaxation method (BR) with music distraction (MD) which is a safe, economically sound and effective nonpharmacological approach. to the short-term reduction of dental anxiety.

Hypnotherapy, virtual reality, use of essential oils, acupuncture, use of natural products like herbal tea and meditation are all ways suggested to reduce the trauma.

Source: Medindia