(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
DO NOT fear. You’re not alone.
One in 10 people are “very afraid” of the dental chair and one in two adults fear the dentist “at least a little”, according to a study conducted by the University of Oulu in central Finland.
The university hosts what the Finns call the “Clinic for Fearful Dental Patients.”
“Fear is normal, and can be a positive thing protecting a person from harming him or herself,” says study leader Vuokko Anttonen, a Professor of Cariology, Endodontology and Pediatric Dentistry at the Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences, University of Oulu. “If fear…is so strong that it hinders a person from going to the dentist, it is harmful, and should be dealt with.”
Professor Anttonen, a dentist, looked at the university’s oral health program that HealthDay News calls “a novel way to turn screams into smiles”.
The patients at the “clinic of fear” were under the care of a hypnotherapist and two clinical practitioners who lecture on dental fear, Professor Anttonen says. The three are dentists “who are interested in treating fearful patients and have taken courses on the topic,” she explains.
The patients – some as young as 2 – experienced “desensitizing” dental care that reduces anxiety.
Professor Anttonen and university researchers looked at the experiences of 152 of these patients who were treated at the research unit from 2000 to 2006.
Patients were referred to the clinic by other dentists because their fear of the dental chair was such that treatment was compromised. Nearly eight in 10 were children ages between 2 and 10; the oldest among the adults was 51.
In general, they feared doctors; in particular, they feared dentists. They feared needles and they feared dental procedures. Treatment was tailored-fit to each patient’s fear.
One approach involved psychological techniques that encourage calm to “strengthen the patient’s sense of control and trust,” says Professor Anttonen. Trust was built in a way that even very young patients agreed to dental procedures after they were made to understand what the procedures were all about.
Even hypnotherapy helped. Many times the patients were distracted enough to relax and desensitized to the procedures they would have otherwise been alarmed with.
Pain control was the second approach. It is important, says Professor Anttonen, pointing to conscious oral sedation, nitrous oxide sedation and even general anesthesia.
Dental fears were reassessed at the conclusion of Professor Anttonen’s study.
The study, published online in BMC Oral Health, deemed the treatment a success when patients reported no signs of dental fear and indicated no need for sedation or general anesthesia.
By 2006, the dental fear clinic was successful in about seven of 10 patients. After the therapy, they went back to the dentist of their choice.
Professor Anttonen continued to track all 152 patients for 10 more years. The study found that by 2016, when their average age was nearly 22, the patients were treated to nearly 2,600 dental procedures.
The study found that younger patients visited dentists regularly more than twice as often as the older patients. They also had less emergency dental care.
Fear not. The Dental Fear Clinic is happy to serve you.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; and Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
