DENTAL ANXIETY is a reaction to an unknown danger. Anxiety is extremely common, and most people experience some degree of dental anxiety especially if they’re about to have something done that they’ve never experienced before. It’s a fear of the unknown.

Dental Fear is a reaction to a known danger (“I know what the dentist is going to do – I’m scared!”), which involves a fight response when confronted with a threatening stimulus.

Dental Phobia is the same as fear, only much stronger (“I know what happens when I go to the dentist – there’s no way to go back! I’m so terrified! I feel sick!”). The fight response occurs when just thinking about or being reminded of the threatening situation. One will want to go away from there and avoid dental care. The best is to obey the dentist and make the treatment using local anesthesia. The patient won’t feel any pain or fear. Current technology will feel more comfortable than you thought.