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Is your fear of a checkup preventing you from going to the dentist?
Find a dentist who specializes in treating people with checkup anxiety
You’re not alone. Statistics Canada reports that 40% of Canadians don’t seek dental care.
Among the most common reasons why people don’t see the dentist are fear (fear of pain or injections, a fear of the numbness associated with local anesthetics, a feeling of lack of control or anxiety) and the cost of dental treatment. It’s estimated that 11% to 22% of patients have extreme dental anxiety.
Unfortunately, the longer you avoid seeing the dentist, the more likely you are to develop a need for emergency treatment as well as gum disease.
Also, just because you don’t have pain, doesn’t mean your mouth is healthy; you may have cavities, broken fillings, gum disease, decay under the gum line or hairline tooth fractures, among other issues.
Fear can be a real impediment to seeking dental treatment, with symptoms that range from extreme tension, nervousness, nausea, excessive sweating and heart palpitations to full-blown panic. Fortunately, with dental anxiety, what you imagine will happen far exceeds the reality and (like all anxieties) fear of going to the dentist can be overcome. Here are some tips:
Don’t let fear or the cost of dental care keep you from addressing your oral health. Talk to your dentist.
Originally published in Wellness Matters, Canada Wide Media’s quarterly newsletter on health and wellness.