We all know that regular consultation with your chosen Filipino dentist is important to keep good oral hygiene. Probably, most of us do understand how damaging it could be if we left dental problems untreated. However, beyond understanding the importance of dental check-ups, there are still Filipinos who try to avoid the dentists out of fear.
There are ways to make people comfortable of going to the dentist; but then again, there are ways to make them more paranoid and completely terrified as well.
Xenophobia (Fear of the unknown)
Do you have an uneasy feeling whenever you are to go to an unfamiliar place, or do you have an uncomfortable feeling when you know some new might happen? Well, you might have the fear of the unknown or xenophobia. Xenophobia is derived from the Greek word “xenos” which means “stranger” and “phobos” meaning “morbid fear”. It’s basically the fear of what’s new or what’s uncertain. Xenophobic individuals might faint as they can’t handle the irrational fear they have so to overcome fear of the unknown most especially when visiting a Filipino dentist for the first time, it’s advisable to make an appointment to the dentist out of his office, or if you know someone, a friend perhaps or family member, who is a dentist, go to them instead to reduce the feeling of unfamiliarity.
Trypanophobia (Fear of Injections)
Since seeing your Filipino dentist might actually mean that you are to undergo medical procedure, a fear of injections is something you should overcome. Trypanophobia, unlike most phobias, causes blood pressure and heart rate to drop. People with trypanophobia tend to feel restrained. Also, there is a possibility that they’d just run away and won’t take the treatment out of fear. If you know someone with tendencies towards being trypanophobic, make sure that person does not go to the dentist alone. Making sure that that person can hold onto someone can while he looks away might me a fear overcome or at least bypassed.
Hemophobia (Fear of blood)
Especially if you are to meet your dentist due to tooth extraction, prepare to see blood. But if you can’t handle seeing blood coming out of fresh wounds or cuts or if you experiences a drop in heart rate whenever you do, then you might have fear of blood or hemophobia. People with hemophobia are irrationally afraid of visible blood from cuts and injuries. They experience tremendous feelings of not being able to move and they become weak enough that they faint. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) may help overcome this fear. If anything, NOT seeing the blood could be an alternative as well—it doesn’t remove the phobia but it could get a procedure done.
Ligyrophobia (Fear of loud noises)
Dental drills and other tools used in treating dental problems make loud whirring noises. People with ligyrophobia tend to sense pain whenever they hear loud noises, and with this case, hearing the sound of your teeth being drilled can increase the sensation of pain and anxiety. To an onlooker, it might not sound as loud but to a patient, a drill against your teeth might be everything that you hear because of both the vibrations that transmit to the air and the vibrations that move through the patient’s solid body. To minimize a patient’s anxiety during the treatment, playing music through earphones might do the trick; this will help blend the sound or mask the noise
These phobias are unexplainable (especially for those who really have it) so, before setting an appointment to your Filipino dentist, make sure that he knows about your fears so he could help you overcoming it.
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